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Downtown Safety Initiative
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IN THIS UPDATE
- Activities Launched This Week
- Ways You Can Help
- Report Issues of Concern
- Data and Accountability
- Contact Information
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Due to a number of recent incidents impacting public safety, the City launched a targeted 60-Day Downtown Safety Initiative on Monday, on May 1. There are complex circumstances contributing to the safety issues that Asheville is currently seeing downtown and it will take a community response to address these complexities. Thank you for your interest in this initiative and we look forward to keeping you updated on a bi-weekly basis through the end of June.
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Activities Launched This Week
The following activities launched within the downtown area this week:
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Increased law enforcement presence by utilizing foot, bike, and vehicle patrols.
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Launch of a Community Responder Pilot Program led by the Asheville Fire Department to support individuals in crisis and provide a more visible City public safety presence downtown.
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Enhanced security and increased maintenance in downtown parks.
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Focused attention on the removal of litter and overall cleanliness.
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Increased parking enforcement
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Focused attention on quickly removing graffiti on public property and graffiti code enforcement on private property in the downtown area.
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Enhanced monitoring City-owned and operated public parking garages, including stairwells in these facilities.
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Staff from Police, Transportation, Public Works and Parks conducted an assessment of lighting in areas of downtown that see greater incidents of crime. Staff is now directly pursuing and/or working with Duke Energy to make lighting improvements in areas where there is a determined need.
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Report Issues of Concern
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Use the Asheville App to report issues related to public safety, cleanliness or other concerns.
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Report crimes in-progress to 911.
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Report non-emergency public safety concerns to APD’s non-emergency line, (828) 252-1110.
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Report criminal activity anonymously by texting TIP2APD to 847411 or use the TIP2APD smartphone application.
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Data and Accountability
Actions taken during this 60-day period will be tracked and reported on the “Response by the numbers” tab on the Downtown Safety Initiative Project Page and shared through email updates. Data will be tracked in the following service areas: Compliance, Environment Improvement, Community Support and Cleanliness.
Crime statistics, a pre-survey completed by the Asheville Downtown Association, a post-survey and data gathered during the initiative will be used to determine future efforts past this 60-day initiative.
Updates on this initiative will also be provided at upcoming Downtown Commission meetings on Friday, May 12 and Friday, June 9, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. in the 1st Floor Conference Room of City Hall. More information about the Downtown Commission is available here.
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