HIGH POINT, N.C. — This year, High Point has seen violent crime fall 5%.
Even with the decrease, Police Chief Travis Stroud said the city still has some hurdles to overcome, particularly among the city's youth.
"When you compare 2022 to 2023 we are at 51%. That's a lot. Juveniles. 51% increase juveniles? Juveniles, yes," Major Matt Truitt said.
Chief Stroud said a lot of the violence among teens involves illegal firearms. Guns left in unlocked cars are also becoming an easy target.
"I believe they are pushed and pulled in this business and this game of violence, and just crime through a period of time in which they are exposed to it," Chief Stroud said.
"When I heard in Greensboro was very similar to what I heard here. The same ideas for solutions, the same depth of the problem," Congresswoman Kathy Manning said.
Congresswoman Manning hosted the violent crime roundtable Thursday morning, where she heard from organizations like High Point Community Against Violence. They said more community involvement and funding could help reverse the rising trend.
"That's one big push that I won't with High Point CAV is to get more meant to be able to walk the halls and build that relationship, mentorship," Robert Martin said.
Manning said she will take what was shared today to Washington to help drum up more federal dollars to fund programs that can help curb teen violence.
"All the information that I got was so valuable in my understanding of the bigger picture of what's going on in our communities. There are so many ways that we can work to help these groups that are addressing these issues," Congresswoman Manning said.