ENC criminal prosecution authorities intensify the efforts against rising gang crime

Criminal prosecution authorities in East Carolina act with gang crimes every day.

Gang units within the Greenville police and the Pitt County department have the task of taking weapons, drugs and criminals connected to gangs outside the street, but over the years they tell us that it has become more complicated.

Well-known gangs such as Bloods and Crips are available in the Greenville-Pitt County area, but we are said that the number of young people creates their own neighborhood gangs.

Sergeant William Grosecrose, GPD gang unit, says:

We have seen that we will get the young people with a firearm and/or narcotics, and within five minutes when their parents pick them up, they are back on the street.

“In a few cases we came across in which people at the age of 12 were in a gang,” said Detective Ivey Dixon, PCS -Lang unit.

Sergeant William Grosecrose has confiscated over 50 weapons at the Greenville police department since the beginning of 2025. Detective Ivey Dixon has confiscated over 25 gang weapons for the Sheriff's office in Pitt County.

They tell us that a large part is the cooperation between the two agencies in closing these examinations.

Detective Ivey Dixon, PCS -Gang unit, says: “There were numerous cases in which we needed the help of GPD, and we will help ourselves to do an enormous amount and we try to do the same at the end of the day as long as the villain is in prison.

For both gang units, Sergeant Groseclose and Detective Dixon say that the most important part of the job is to collect Intel and know who is involved in the various gangs.

“Many citizens will tell us about suspicious activities and we go out and explore.”

Sergeant William Groseclose, GPD gang unit, closes:

“A lot of us is only police cars and blue lights. We patroll the areas we know are hotspots in which we know that they are.”

If you or someone you know, you suspect gang activity in your area, you will be encouraged to contact the Pitt-Greenville Crimestopper.

You can submit your tips to Pitt-Greenville Crime Stopper at (252) 758-7777, online at www.crimestopper.org.