Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting - May 12, 2025
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Winston-Salem Public Safety Committee Meeting - May 12, 2025
The Public Safety Committee of the Winston-Salem City Council met on Monday, May 12, 2025, at 2:00 PM in 101 N Main Street. Chair Annette Scippio presided, with Vice Chair Regina Hall and members Vivián V. Joiner and Scott Andree-Bowen present. The meeting included one consent item and four general agenda items, covering state highway renaming, CURE Violence, the BEAR Team, mid-year crime statistics, and a golf cart ordinance amendment. The meeting adjourned at 3:46 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Item C-1: Ordinance Amending Section 42-123(c) and (e) of the City Code Relating to the State Highway System – Reid Hutchins, Transportation Operations Manager, presented the item. The amendment replaces the designation US 311 with SR 4706 and SR 4394 on New Walker Town Road, at the request of NCDOT. The speed limit and maintenance responsibilities remain unchanged. Approved unanimously by consent vote.
Discussion Items
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G-1: Update on City/County Partnership with CURE Violence Program – Assistant Health Director Sherita Sutton gave an update on the community violence intervention program, Forsyth Wins (Winston Intervention for Nonviolent Streets). Violence interrupters Terrell Harris and Velma Terry described their work with 28 high-risk participants, ages 12 to 30, providing job placements, school referrals, and community events. They emphasized building trust and bridging gaps between youth and law enforcement. Dr. Erica Payton and Dr. Marika Visser from UNC Greensboro presented evaluation data comparing target police beat 222 with a control census tract 400. Early findings show promising declines in firearm incidents and homicides since the intervention started, but more data (at least three years) is needed to confirm impact. Council members expressed support and asked about barriers (e.g., participants outside the designated beat), professional development, and daily hours (4 PM to 11 PM, often on-call 24/7). The item was for information only; no vote taken.
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G-2: Annual Report on the Fire Department’s Behavioral Evaluation and Response (BEAR) Team – Director Kristin S. Ryan presented the second-year report. The team has grown from 6 to 10 crisis counselors, including two Spanish-speaking staff. Since launching on May 15, 2025, the team responded to 4,454 calls with an average response time of 12.5 minutes (under the 30-minute benchmark) and an average on-scene time of 85.2 minutes. Services are voluntary, focusing on mental health and substance use crises. The team collaborates with over 20 community providers, participates in homeless encampment outreach, and received the Attorney General’s Dogwood Award. A weekly client briefing with healthcare partners helps coordinate follow-up. Council members asked about data on violent vs. nonviolent calls (not yet tracked separately) and how the team coordinates with other homeless outreach. Item was for information only.
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G-3: Citywide Mid-year Crime Review – Assistant Chief Christopher Diamont presented statistics for 2025 through May 11. Notable points: 3 homicides year-to-date (down from 8 last year), with arrests made in 2 cases; 661 part one crimes cleared; an increase in larcenies but corresponding arrests; 3,489 part two arrests; traffic citations highest in districts 3 and 2 (interstate areas). Communications vacancies reduced to 13, with 91.83% of 911 calls answered within 10 seconds (above national standard). Missing persons cases: 232 this year, aided by new bloodhound Bo. Recruiting: Class 80 in training, Class 81 starting June 23 with strong applicant numbers. Assistant Chief Manny Gomez updated on the Real-Time Crime Center (internationally recognized, assisted 1,498 cases since July 1, 2024) and drone operations (385 deployments, transitioning to American-made drones). Council member Scott Andree-Bowen asked about reported rapes: 25 reported, a 39% decrease from 2024; domestic violence cases down 10.2% (1,086 cases). The item was information only.
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G-4: Ordinance Amendment to Allow WSPD to Operate Golf Carts on Public Streets – Captain Jason Gates proposed amending Chapter 74, Article XIV, Section 74-514 to permit police department personnel to use golf carts for law enforcement, public safety, and special events in downtown areas. The department already has two underutilized carts (10 years old). Similar programs exist in Asheville and Greensboro. Council members asked about 24-hour operation (carts have lights and sirens) and liability (risk manager approved with policy). A motion to approve was made by Council Member Joiner, seconded by Council Member Andree-Bowen. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). The amendment will go to the full City Council.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Vote Approved: C-1 Highway designation amendment passed.
- Information Items Received: G-1 (CURE Violence), G-2 (BEAR Team), and G-3 (Mid-year Crime Review) were presented as information only, without votes. Council members noted the positive trends and requested continued updates.
- Ordinance Amendment Approved: G-4 (golf cart use by police) passed unanimously (4-0) and will advance to full council.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. Well, good afternoon, everyone. It's so great to see you, and I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and you loved on your mom, thought about your mom, or did something with the mom. I think that was great. We just love you for doing that. So today we have our wonderful public safety committee meeting for the month of May. Thank you. We have one consent item and four general agenda items. And I personally would like for uh the consent item to uh be read and presented. Okay. Item C1, ordinance amending section 42-123C and E of the City Code relating to the state highway system. Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the committee. Uh Reed Hutchins Transportation Operations Manager. Um so this items before you today, um, mainly as a request from NC D OT. Um so what's going on here is the uh road name change mainly on the NCDOT side of things from US 311 uh to this uh secondary route, which is um one second here. It would go replace US 311 um with SR 4706 and then 4394. Um NCDOT re approaches our office uh often for these name changes. Um since it's maintained by them, that's why we see these. Um the speed limit does not change. Uh New Walker Town Road does not go away. It's just that US 311 that we all know um being replaced with that uh SR number 4706 and 4394. And that number is just actually how the state refers to it. It still will be New Walk and Road, and uh for I wanted this pool because um those of us who've been here forever always say 311 Highway 311. We're so comfortable with that designation, and it's no longer gonna be referred to as highway 311 because it's all interconnected with the uh beltway. So once the beltway is built out, um less traffic will be on 311 as we know it now, New Walker Town Road. Um so they're gonna take that 311 away, assign the SR number, and then once the beltway ultimately connects down to High Point and to the north up with 52, um, we're gonna see that the 311 go away and those SR numbers come. Locally, I do think that people will still refer to it as 311, but the state will name it the SR 4706. And this is a common activity that happens. Um, and I just wanted to make sure people didn't think that we were changing New Walkath Road. Uh it will be that and but in the state and how they deal with uh our roads, uh, it will have a different designation. Now will we have to continue? Will the state continue to maintain that state road? Yes, that is correct. That is correct. So we don't have to pick up any more costs, it's just gonna continue the way it always has been. Yeah, there we go. Exactly. Right, thank you. So um committee members, we need to vote on this change. Is there a motion? Madam Chair, make a motion. So move. Second. Oh, second. Thank you. All in favor, please vote. I no, did it not come up? No. Okay. It's good, it might came up, but uh it was a yes.
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