Police in NC Tourist Town Coping with 34% Increase in Violent Crime

City police in Asheville, North Carolina, recently released new statistics that show rising violent crime trends in the Democrat-led tourist town have continued, increasing 34% year-to-date compared to last year and 29% over 2020.

"The Asheville Police Department takes this very, very seriously," Capt. Joe Silberman of the Asheville Police Department (APD) said Wednesday, according to local outlet WLOS . "Our staff is working around the clock to follow up on instances of reports that have been taken."

APD released the latest statistics to WLOS after Fox News Digital published a report last week about how violent crime in the historic mountain town skyrocketed 31% per 100,000 people between 2016 and 2020 — nearly double the national average and 18 percentage points higher than North Carolina's 13% increase statewide during the same period.

The new violent crime numbers include a 59% year-to-date spike in armed robberies compared to 2021, Fox News reports.

APD Chief David Zack recently told Fox News Digital that his department is down more than 100 sworn officers since May 2020, and that they are struggling to maintain visibility while "operating at almost 42% down every single day."

Multiple local law enforcement sources who recently spoke to Fox News Digital attributed some of the mass exodus to the city's liberal leadership and to left-wing activists who undermine police.