Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ For months now I’ve been hearing it from Salisbury Police sources that the Salisbury Police department is woefully undermanned and that the City of Salisbury is virtually at the mercy of its large criminal element due to a lack of patrol cars. No doubt you’ve heard about the shootings and non-stop break-ins terrorizing the citizens of the West End. I’ve been informed that on many nights the city may have only two patrol cars cruising the entire city, certainly not enough manpower to give much if any timely coverage to protect our citizens. This needs to end immediately. People need to feel safe and secure in their homes or they will book passage out of Salisbury for higher ground.
Yesterday I ran into William Peeples in Walmart, an outspoken advocate for the people of Salisbury. William underscored the facts concerning the lack of police patrol affecting every Salisbury neighborhood not just the much terrorized West End. He said the city’s claiming 81 police in their employee, but said that’s not so. The entire uniformed police department has only 65 officers and many of them are in supervisory roles, code enforcement, community relations, and other functions and not out there manning patrol cars. Patrol cars are the protective guard of any city. Without enough the city goes unprotected.
The city needs to raid its slush funds and pony up for patrol officers or Salisbury will flat-line even faster. Police and Fire departments are an utter necessity–there can be no scrimping there even if your city is near broke. Call on those Daddy Warbucks to show a little more than self-interest and shake their money tree to keep the city from being drowned by a tidal wave of crime.
In the meantime those persons who desire to stay here through deepening hard times or who can’t sell their houses yet, by all means learn what you can about self and home protection. It’s a must.
http://rowanfreepress.com/stop-home-invasions/
Already well over a thousand homes are up for sale (some for as much as two years). Salisbury schools scored poorly on the very important composite scores of the state education’s READY Report and drug abuse, gangs, and bad behavior are pretty much an everyday occurrence in many of Salisbury’s middle and high schools. 28% poverty dominates Salisbury’s stats. Jobs in the city? Not much happening.
Salisbury boasts one successful “build it and they will come” project: “Rowan Helping Ministries Homeless Shelter” said to be the largest state-of-the-art homeless shelter in North Carolina. Crime according to FBI stats puts us toward the upper eschelon of dangerous North Carolina cities in per capita violent and property crime. Thinking of planting a business here? Think again. Look at the downtown tax rate, the tricked up historical codes for a city with no more history than elderly buildings, and red tape. Look at the records for new building permits–not many new homes being built. Market values of area homes are trending downward big time. Urban flight? People are pulling out when they can unload their homes.
People ask me almost every week: “Do you think we should stay here? Will it ever get better?” I tell them I don’t see anything on the current horizon being formulated by Downtown Salisbury ONLY (the corrupt and self-absorbed power structure leading Salisbury to its dump status and dragging down the county with Salisbury’s statistics). If you stay–arm yourself.
