The Good Side of 2020

High Point ended 2020 with a double digit decrease, 10 percent, in violent crime. Violent crimes – homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies – were down 10 percent. Burglaries, break-ins, larcenies and auto thefts were down nine percent. Homicides alone went from 19 in 2019 to 14 in 2020, not the case in many of our neighboring cities. The Department also seized 433 guns last year.

Interim Police Chief Travis Stroud gave credit to High Point’s focused deterrence strategy as one important reason the numbers went down. Focused deterrence uses data to identify the individuals who commit most of the crimes. Police and the community are able to target those individuals, helping High Point to work smarter to stop and prevent crime.

High Point began using this strategy in 1997. The graph below shows the changes in violent crime and population over the years.

You can read more about the strategy here.

A Decade of Good Work

In July 2010, local businessman Zaki Khalifa donated the building at 792 North Main Street in High Point to HPCAV. An anonymous donor made it possible for us to renovate the space for our needs. For the first time, HPCAV had a permanent home. A decade later, HPCAV continues to flourish in this location. In addition to providing space for our executive director and volunteers, the large back section of the building is where our Life Construction Program operates. Clients learn basic construction skills as well as general employment and life skills. They build garden sheds and go on to work on homes in the local Habitat for Humanity communities as well as repair work through the City of High Point, Housing and Community Development projects.

We also rent space to the Fraternal Order of Police, ACTS Church and a local dance instructor/DJ. The building is used to “build community” and do good work in a variety of ways.

Thank you, Zaki! We look forward to another decade of working to make High Point safer for everyone.

Focused Deterrence Works

Indexed crime or crime per capita is shown in the chart below, beginning in 1992 and ending in 2019. We began using the Focused Deterrence model in 1997, working with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the community. Since then, our violent crime has decreased by 58% while the city’s population continues to grow at 50%. Over 2000 people have been notified. Of those, four out of five people do not reoffend. It’s not the perfect answer for all violence, but it works.

Focused deterrence overview

More Work, Less Violence

High Point Community Against Violence (HPCAV) completed the first phase of its new violence reduction project, More Work, Less Violence, in September, 2019.  Phase One lasted six weeks, with participants meeting five days each week.  Five of the initial seven participants completed this first phase.  Four of those five are now employed, one of the goals of the project.

More Work, Less Violence is the creation of Jim Summey, HPCAV’s executive director, and is funded by the High Point Community Foundation.  The purpose of the project is to work with some of our focused deterrence violent crime offenders who are hard-to-place, difficult to manage and slow to adjust, helping them develop skills and support that will move them into gaining legitimate employment that can help sustain them and their families.  Most of these individuals are in relationships and have children.  Most have difficulties securing work and keeping it.  They struggle with punctuality, communication, following instructions, and being prepared from day to day, all of which negatively impact and limit their employability. 

More Work, Less Violence, Phase One began with a Life Assessment for each individual, separating the facts of their lives from the fiction that had been created.  Discussions and assignment topics included:  communication (listening and speaking; what is real dialogue); emotions (using truth, not emotions as a basis for reactions, recognizing emotional triggers, responsibility for responses); writing as a way of organizing thoughts, separating facts from fiction, working through emotions; getting prepared for the next day; making action plans; putting plans into action.  Work projects (taking instructions and functioning as a team to accomplish a common goal) were also a part of Phase One.

Phase Two, which begins in October, 2019, will work with these individuals and the significant others in their lives (girlfriends, children).  The goal of Phase Two is to help the individuals improve their key relationships, reduce family dysfunction, and ultimately reduce or stop the generational cycle of violence.

The last component of the More Work, Less Violence project will be evaluation and follow-up.

Job Help is Available

You’ve got a criminal record. No one wants to hire you. You REALLY need a job. What can you do?

Two options worth looking at are: Jobs on the Outside through Goodwill Industries and the Welfare Reform Liaison Project‘s free employment training.

Jobs on the Outside is a free, comprehensive program that helps people with criminal backgrounds successfully get a job and keep a job. You have to be at least 16 years old, have a criminal background and attend an orientation meeting. Call 336-275-9801 or check out Triad Goodwill for details.

Welfare Reform Liaison Project, Inc. (WRLP) offers free employment training for people with or without a criminal record, including Construction Skills Training and Technology Training. You have to be at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or GED (they can help if you don’t!), live in Guilford County and be at or below 125% of poverty level (they’ll figure that out for you). Call 336-882-4141, extension 8515 in High Point. Get more information on their website.

Take a look!

HPCAV has been working to reduce violence in High Point for over 21 years. If you wonder whether our work makes a difference, hear what our clients have to say in our newest video.

Domestic Violence Strategy Gains National Attention

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has invited the High Point Police Department to present information about our Offender Focused Domestic Violence Initiative (DVI) that was begun in 2012 at its national conference in September.  Based on the Violent Crime Focused Deterrence model, the DVI has helped reduce repeat domestic violence offenses in High Point.  Almost 3500 offenders have been “put on notice” over the past six years of implementation.   And while the program is not perfect – domestic violence continues to happen – it has made a difference, more than other strategies used in the past.

Read more about our DVI in this article from the Greensboro News and Record.

Latest US Attorney Newsletter

The Middle District of North Carolina, US Attorney’s Office, has published their March 2017 newsletter.  This is a great way to see what is going on around our District related to crime and violence reduction efforts!

Middle District News

Our Domestic Violence Model Goes National

We are proud to share the news that the National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC) at John Jay College of Criminal Justice is launching a new intimate partner violence intervention initiative, based on the successful intervention model we developed here in High Point.  Three pilot cities will be chosen to replicate the model.  This initiative is being funded by a $1.6 million grant from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.

“While we do not receive any of the money,” said Ken Schultz, High Point Chief of Police, “the work and efforts of everyone, to include all of our many partners who have contributed to the success of our program, will now be spread throughout the country and will benefit many more victims of domestic violence.”

More from John Jay College

 

 

Good Things Going Around

On September 24, 2015, the following article was published in the High Point Enterprise, written by the president of the High Point Community Foundation.  As a result, one of our clients came in and made a $100 donation to our organization.  He explained that he had read the article, thought about it and wanted to give back. We are grateful to both of them!

Giving 101: Best Deal in Town

There has been a seismic shift in the philanthropic landscape over the past ten years that I, coming from a corporate background, have enthusiastically embraced. It’s called “venture philanthropy,” and it is based upon the belief that charitable gifts should be made with the same expectation one might have investing in your own personal stock portfolio.
All nonprofit organizations should have a sound business plan, a means to measure success and a return on your investment. Obviously you won’t be getting a stock dividend, but what you should see, and be able to measure, is a tangible impact. What this philosophy introduces is accountability and it’s a promise that any organization you support should be able to provide.
Now, what if I told you that there is a nonprofit in our community who can promise you multiple million dollar dividends for your investment? Would you be interested in giving to an organization that provides this kind of returns? The organization I am talking about is High Point Community against Violence (HPCAV) and it may be the best “bang for your buck” in our city. HPCAV was established years ago by a group of ordinary citizens who partnered with our High Point Police Department in an effort to make their community a more safe and productive environment to live, raise a family and run a business.
Since its inception, they have been identifying and “calling out” serious offenders, offering them a chance to mend their ways and, if they choose not to, sending them on long-term stints in federal prison. They are proactive in working with those recently released from prison by helping them with housing, food and job training, to acclimate them to society and keep them from reoffending.
Most recently, HPCAV has started using a similar format to address domestic violence, which is not only more prevalent in this community than one would think, but also presents the highest risk to our police officers who respond to the calls. The key to their success in both of these formats is that the focus is rightfully directed upon the offender and they use the power of the courts to leverage reform or remove the offenders from the community.
High Point Police Chief Marty Sumner not only endorses HPCAV, he can show you that this organization saves our High Point well over $14 million a year. It truly is the best deal in town, yet they have always struggled to raise money for their minimal budget. The Rev. Jim Summey, HPCAV’s executive director, is paid by the City of High Point and their annual budget is less than $100,000 a year.
Every citizen, and certainly all of our local businesses, should be contributing to HPCAV annually. This program, which has been nationally and internationally recognized, deserves our admiration and financial support. I encourage each of you who read this article to consider just how much it is worth to you and your family to have a community that is safe from crime. There some things in life we do simply because they are right, true and just. HPCAV is one of these and if you would like to support them send your checks to High Point Community against Violence, 792 N. Main Street, High Point, NC 27262.
PAUL LESSARD, a recipient of the Carnegie Hero Medal and a catalyst for the growth of community outreach programs, is president of the High Point Community Foundation.