FORSYTH COUNTY Leaders in Forsyth County will meet on Thursday to discuss the rise in crime and vote on prevention measures. We’ve read headlines about violence in Winston-Salem for months. Greensboro has a program to assist reduce violent crime. Now Forsyth County is trying.
Amber Lake of CSU News 2 spoke with commissioners who strongly oppose the idea. Some things had to yield, commissioners said. Crime is rising, and something must be done to reduce violence. Commissioners seek remedies to rising violence. “It’s about two viewpoints. So we can better the lives of young people,” Fleming El-Amin added.
On Thursday, Forysth County commissioners will discuss two projects to reduce violent crime. One is with Cure Violence. Commissioner El-Amin said they spent four months examining needs in some troubled areas.
“They came back with some recommendations and assessments,” El-Amin added. Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt disagrees with El-Amin on this broadcast.
We don’t want our law enforcement to think we’re attempting to belittle their efforts,” Whisenhunt said.
Cure Violence will receive $1.5 million from the American Rescue Plan until 2024. The objectives are to identify and treat high-risk individuals and engage the community to change norms.
Judicial intervention and investigation team (JIIT) This program allows officers to investigate gang-related and gun violence among youth. The goals are to reduce gang-related and youth-involved offenses, increase gang violence numbers, decrease youth detention at Forsyth County Detention Center, reduce SRO workload, and more.
Whisenhunt thinks that’s a problem. “I hope it’ll reassure our parents that Forsyth County law enforcement is addressing this issue.” These programs are funded by ARPA monies, of which Forsyth County received $74.2M.
El-Amin is excited about the meeting and hopes to find a solution. In the community, I believe both of them have a lot to offer. So four votes for both programs,” El-Amin stated. The measures will be debated and voted on March 3rd
Follow us on Twitter
Also, Read Janesville Sees Lowest Crime in Nearly 40 Years, Police Department Says
