Over the past several weeks, our community has experienced serious acts of violence. They have left victims and families dealing with pain and trauma, and they have understandably created fear and concern among residents across Greensboro. My thoughts remain with everyone who has been directly affected.
We cannot allow repeated acts of violence to become something our community simply learns to live with. They demand our attention and a coordinated response from the City.
Chief Kamran Afzal and I have been working together on what that response needs to look like, both immediately and over the longer term. We agree on a fundamental point: people should feel safe in their homes, in their neighborhoods, at work and as they move throughout this city.
Getting there will require focused law enforcement, strong community partnership and a willingness to examine whether changes to City policies, practices or resources are needed to better prevent and respond to violence.
We are not creating another permanent unit or adding another layer of bureaucracy. We are bringing the capabilities we already have together around a clearer citywide strategy.
Chief Afzal is directing GPD to strengthen coordination among patrol, investigations, crime-gun intelligence, violent-offender enforcement and other specialized resources.
The approach will be driven by what the information is telling us. Where is violence occurring? Are there repeat locations or patterns? Is there a threat of retaliation? Are particular individuals driving violence or connected to multiple incidents? What do investigators need to resolve cases and hold offenders accountable? Those questions should determine where we focus resources.
We do not need the same police response everywhere in Greensboro. We need the right response where there is a demonstrated problem, focused on the individuals, locations and circumstances associated with violence. At the same time, people throughout Greensboro should know that their safety matters and that the City will respond when they need us.
Law enforcement is necessary, particularly when people are committing violent crimes. But enforcement alone will not solve this problem.
Our Community Safety Department will be an important part of this work, particularly in intervention, retaliation prevention, support for victims and families, youth and family engagement, and connecting people with services that can help interrupt the conditions that lead to further violence.
When incidents involve young people or have a connection to our schools, GPD can also bring School Resource Officers into the response where appropriate for information sharing, safety planning, identifying escalating conflicts and connecting young people and families with help.
We cannot limit our work to what happens after shots are fired. If we know a conflict is escalating, if there is a credible threat of retaliation, or if someone is moving toward violence, we need to use every appropriate tool we have to intervene earlier.
Part of this work also means being willing to ask whether the City has the policies, practices and resources it needs.
Chief Afzal and I will continue evaluating what we are seeing through these incidents and where there may be gaps in our response. If changes in City policy or additional resources would make Greensboro safer, we need to identify them and bring those issues forward.
City Council has an important role in that work. We will keep Council informed about what we are seeing, what actions are underway, whether those actions are working, and any policy or resource decisions that require Council consideration.
From the City Manager’s perspective, my responsibility is clear. I need to make sure Chief Afzal and our officers have the organizational support they need, that City departments are working together, that prevention and intervention are connected to enforcement, and that we are accountable for results. But government and law enforcement cannot prevent violence alone.
We need families, schools, neighborhoods, businesses, faith leaders and community organizations working with us. We need people who see conflicts developing to help us reach individuals before those conflicts become violent. And when residents have information about violent activity or illegal firearms, we need them to share that information with law enforcement.
This cannot be another temporary response that disappears when public attention moves on. We are putting a coordinated process in place, with clear responsibility for the work and an expectation that we will measure what is happening. If something is working, we need to know it. If it isn’t, we need to change it.
We will act with urgency. We will hold people who commit acts of violence accountable. We will work to prevent retaliation and intervene before conflicts escalate. We will examine whether changes in policy or resources can make our response stronger. And we will continue working with the community we serve. People in every part of Greensboro deserve to feel safe.
We cannot accept violence as normal in our community, and we will not.
