Weed and Seed Update July 2005

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Weed and Seed UpdateJuly 2005

• Lynn Harvey, Ph.D.

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Weed and Seed Update
Overall, focus criminal offenses (homicide, rape,
robbery, aggravated assault, burglary-BE,
larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson, weapons
violations, sexual offenses, drugs, and
kidnapping) decreased in the Weed and Seed areas
by 12.6 in the first half of 2005, compared with
the same period in 2004 (see table below). Over
the same time period, focus offenses declined
23.3 in the rest of Winston-Salem. Focus
criminal offenses decreased in four of the five
Weed and Seed neighborhoods during the first half
of the year. Northeast Winston was the only Weed
and Seed neighborhood that saw an increase in
focus offenses, up 9.5, from 400 to 438. The
overall increase in Northeast Winston was due
largely to a jump in drug offenses (from 112 to
159). Most of that increase came between March
and May 2005, when a special initiative was
underway to shut down a persistent open-air drug
market in the Northeast Winston neighborhood.
The dramatic decrease in the South Winston One
neighborhood is affected by the drastic reduction
in potential victims in the neighborhood, due to
the continued relocation of public housing
residents from that area to other parts of the
city during 2004 as part of a federally funded
revitalization project.
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Focus Criminal OffensesJanuary-June 2005vs.
January-June 2004
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Weed and Seed vs. Rest of City
The table below illustrates the percentage change
in the most numerous focus offenses, comparing
the Weed and Seed sites with the rest of the
city. Drug offenses, driven by the substantial
increase in Northeast Winston discussed above,
rose a total of 5.5 in the Weed and Seed areas
while falling 25.1 in the rest of the city.
Aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies, and
motor vehicle thefts all declined substantially
in both Weed and Seed sites and in the rest of
the city. Among those offenses, aggravated
assaults decreased to a greater extent in the
rest of the city, while burglaries decreased by a
larger percentage in the Weed and Seed
neighborhoods. Weapons violations increased
slightly in the Weed and Seed neighborhoods while
falling 20.8 in the rest of Winston-Salem.
Finally, robberies rose 5.2 in the Weed and Seed
areas but decreased slightly in the rest of the
city.
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Weed and Seed vs. Rest of City Change in
Criminal OffensesJanuary-June 2005 vs.
January-June 2004
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For more information contactLynn Harvey, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Sociology  
Phone[phone] Fax [phone]harveyly_at_w
ssu.edu Center for Community Safety500 West
Fourth St. Suite 102Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101