WILMINGTON, NC (StarNews) — The rapid pace of development in Wilmington could spur the city’s police department to seek 34 new officers by 2025, including 14 to start a new division in the city’s booming Eastwood Road corridor, Chief Ralph Evangelous told Wilmington City Council last week.
During an interview Tuesday, Evangelous said, “I anticipate a lot more traffic there, then you’ve got an influx of a lot of people moving in there, lots of people. That becomes a real target-rich environment, especially for property crimes, but also other types of crimes — robberies and things of that nature.”
The proposal, which is part of the department’s 2025 strategic plan, calls for the city to fund 14 officers spread across the next three budget cycles to open the new District Seven, which would encompass the city’s northeast corner with Market Street making up its western border and Eastwood Road its southern border. If the city continues its upward growth trend, the plan stated, WPD would also like to hire five additional officers annually from 2022 to 2025.