New WPD leaders discuss vacancies, downtown crime and homelessness

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington’s new assistant police chief and deputy chief have been in their roles for nearly a month, and both say staffing, public safety and community trust are among their top priorities.

“The average person in the course of their life experiences two to three really traumatic moments, officers in the course of a 25 to 30 years career experience hundreds,” said Brooke Wright, Wilmington Police Department assistant chief.

Despite the challenges that come with the job, Wright and WPD’s Deputy Chief Rodney Dawson are working to recruit a new generation of officers and fill vacancies within the department.

“We want to be everywhere for everybody but when you are short, you are restricted in what you can do so we do have to prioritize,” Wright said.

Wilmington’s newly approved budget includes higher pay for officers. Wright said the department is also focusing on improved training and mental health support for its officers.

The new police leaders are also taking their positions after WPD faced public scrutiny following an officer-involved shooting at a Market Street parking deck over the summer.

Wright said the department is working to provide more information to the public about crime in downtown Wilmington and increase transparency.

“We are strategizing different ways to be able to report out difference information so that we should be the source for their information and they can trust what we are telling them,” Wright said.

Wright said department data shows overall crime is down in most categories, though commercial burglaries have increased slightly.

She said WPD is working with businesses considered more vulnerable to burglaries and providing crime prevention guidance.

Dawson said crime statistics alone do not determine whether residents and visitors feel secure.

“If our citizens don’t feel safe, they mean nothing,” Dawson said.

Homelessness also remains an ongoing concern in downtown Wilmington. WPD has brought in four social workers to help officers connect people with services and resources.

“We can’t arrest our way out of every problem, and not every problem needs an arrest, we recognize that we have communities that are struggling and they need help and support and assistance and the goal of all of this is connecting them with the services that they need,” Dawson said.