Break-ins in Democrat-run Asheville, North Carolina, jumped 200 percent in January, Fox News reported on Sunday.
As of Feb. 1, the Asheville Police Department (APD) has already responded to 11 reports of break-ins, compared to 41 in all of 2022, according to the outlet, which cited local reports.
“It’s wildly frustrating, and mostly for me it’s frustrating because I’m not comfortable leaving my bar by itself when it happens that frequently,” bar owner Chris Faber told WLOS. Faber’s bar was reportedly targeted twice in January “within the span of a few days” — 20 bottles of whiskey and roughly $800 in cash were stolen.
“We just don’t know what to do as a preventative measure, other than what we’re already doing,” Faber continued.
APD senior officer Robert Crume told the local outlet that many businesses are no longer bothering to report break-ins.
“They just report the loss to their insurance and move on. They’ve become so frustrated with the situation,” Crume said.
The increase in break-ins arises amid a surge in violent crime in Asheville. Violent crime in the city has increased 31 percent per 100,000 people between 2016 and 2020 — “nearly double the national average and 18 percentage points higher than North Carolina’s 13 percent increase statewide during the same period,” according to the report. Data released by APD in September of 2022 showed a 34 percent increase compared to 2021, and 29 percent in 2020.
APD Chief David Zack previously told Fox News Digital last fall that the department is “operating at almost 42 percent down every single day” and lost more than 100 sworn officers since May of 2020. Sources told the outlet they believe the city’s leftwing leadership is partially responsible for the exodus.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.