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Greensboro Police Chief Promises Renewed Efforts Against Gun Violence

KERI BROWN/WFDD

Greensboro officials are promising a stepped-up response to a growing violent crime rate in the city. 

Police Chief Wayne Scott says residents will see a larger police presence in the coming months, as well as a renewed focus on gun violence.

Scott spoke at a news conference Monday, called in part to reassure citizens the department is committed to making the city safe.

The News and Record reports that Greensboro's homicide rate is trending upward again, with numbers that continued to climb over the weekend.  

The news conference was led by Nathaniel Davis, speaking on his first day as assistant city manager over public safety.

Davis pointed to the effectiveness of Gun Stoppers, a program that has led to the seizure of 500 illegal guns this year.

Davis also said the department has partnered with federal agencies to more quickly confirm ballistics matches with guns used in Greensboro crimes.

And he said the police force will shift some of its investigative unit officers back into uniform, bolstering patrols in areas where gun crimes often occur.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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