Haywood County 2024 Crime Report shows according to Helene's effects: Sheriff

Haywood County, NC (WLOS) – The latest crime report is designed for Haywood County, and some of the numbers show that the effects of Hurricane Helene are present.

The sheriff of Haywood County, Bill Wilke, described the new crime report from 2024 as a snapshot that requires careful interpretation.

“If you look at the number of services, this rose considerably. Much of it was the hurricane Helene,” he said.

The report shows that there were 169,229 calls in 2023. In 2024 this number was 183,416. Wilke said that a better evaluation will be equipped with additional data.

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In the Department of Criminal Investigations, the cases have dropped from 588 to 574. However, more stolen property was recovered last year. The numbers show that incidents and arrests have no longer decreased. However, the summary of the narcotics summary shows that some illegal substances have expired and others are carried out.

Wilke believes that strong messages sink on drugs.

“They come to Haywood County, intend to transport drugs to traffic or do something that affects the residents of this district. We will be there,” said Wilke. “We have a human dignity that can no longer help help that generally need help. But understand that: there are evil people who intend to do bad things. And I intend to stop them at every point.”

According to Wilke, new data that comes to the Haywood County's Sheriff will show progress in reintegration of drug offenders.

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“For the first time we started measuring some of these statistics, and we have people who went to rehab and were successful,” added Wilke.

Wilke said that this recent crime report, in particular the requests for Helene in Helene, has revealed an important need to improve technology.

“Until Starlink appeared, we had a very minimal communication skills. We just have a legacy VHF, which is okay, but when we move into the future, we have to see how we use the state system,” he said.

According to Wilke, the sheriff's office is now available immediately according to the effects on communication.