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Asheville Asks: How can I better protect my home or business?
We can all take steps around our property to help reduce crime.
For Crime Prevention Tips and more, check out our safety and emergency preparedness page under the Services tab on the City of Asheville website homepage.
A great first step is employing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) practices in and around your home or business. And our Asheville Police Department Community Engagement Division can help.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) seeks to reduce both actual crimes, and fear of crime to foster a vibrant and safe community through thoughtful design of spaces.
There are several ways that CPTED attempts to achieve this crime reduction, such as:
- Natural Surveillance
- Natural Access Control
- Territorial Reinforcement
- Maintenance
Use this CPTED Self-Assessment Checklist to evaluate and improve your security measures.
You can request a CPTED survey and report from the Asheville Police Department. Requests are fulfilled first come first served as staffing allows. Asheville Police members look forward to opportunities to make community members and businesses safer. You can request a survey by contacting the APD Community Engagement Unit at apdcommunityengagement@ashevillenc.gov or call 828-271-6145.
Find more information about CPTED, including specific recommendations here.
Environment and Safety Committee Updates
City Council's Environment and Safety Committee meets monthly. They review policy updates and make policy recommendations that ensure:
- The contributions of natural resources to human well-being are explicitly recognized and valued and that maintaining their health is a primary objective;
- Public health needs are recognized and addressed through provisions for healthy foods, physical activity, access to recreation, healthcare, environmental justice, and safe neighborhoods;
- Building and maintenance resilience to climate change; and
- The provision of public safety, including Police, Fire, and Emergency Management Services, as well as, intergovernmental relations and cooperation with law enforcement.
At their June 25, 2024 meeting, they heard updates from Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb on enforcement/effectiveness of the City's Solicitation Ordinance, including updates on panhandling and statistics in newly defined high traffic zones.
In addition, Parks and Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt provided updates on the 10 Year Plan underway, Recreate Asheville: Shaping Our City's Parks.
View a recording of the meeting here.
At the Committee's next meeting on July 23, 2024, APD will provide a quarterly crime update. You can find all agendas and meeting materials for the Environment and Safety Committee on this page.
Asheville City Council Passes FY 2025 Budget with Key Investments in Top Priorities
Council members voted to approve the fiscal year (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025) budget during the June 11 City Council meeting. The $250.88 Million budget, based on City Council priorities, community input, and staff work, reflects the long term strategies and priorities for funding.
City staff used the following guiding principles in the development of this year’s Annual Operating and Capital Budget:
- Essential service delivery – Ensuring departments have the resources required to meet service delivery expectations.
- Enhancing customer value – Ensuring efficient service delivery that improves the customer experience.
- Strategic alignment – Aligning resources (new and existing) to achieve community, Council and staff goals.
These principles remain in line with the priorities identified by City Council during their February Retreat used to guide Council, City staff, and the City’s budget throughout the upcoming fiscal year.
City Council's 6 Strategic Priorities for FY25:
- Neighborhood and Climate Resilience
- Equitable, Affordable Housing and Stability
- Improve and Maintain Infrastructure and Core Services
- Reparations
- Reimagining Public Safety
- Homelessness Strategies
The strategic priorities of FY25 remain consistent with those identified by the City Council in previous years, allowing for continued focus and continuity of service for the community.
In terms of Public Safety, adjustments were made to the originally proposed budget including the following increases in compenstation:
Asheville Fire Department (AFD)
- An 8.8% increase in compensation for starting sworn firefighters, boosting the entry level on-shift Firefighter to $50,309.
- Provides longer-tenured employees who are further in the step plan a larger dollar increase which helps maintain the integrity of the step plan.
Asheville Police Department (APD)
- An annual increase of 6.0% for sworn officers across the board, boosting entry level sworn Police Officer pay to $50,309.
- Also among increases for public safety staff, funds were dedicated to support safety programs including the Community Responder Program and Drone Program support.
Find more information about the FY 2024-2025 budget here.
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