Asheville’s Southside residents complain about surge in prostitution, other crimes

By Kimberly King

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — South French Broad Avenue is filled with historic homes and now some residents are complaining about the number of prostitutes and johns they’re seeing in the area.

Southside residents said they’re seeing women soliciting even in broad daylight prostitution and it has become a big problem.

Asheville police reported nine calls in the past six months.

South French Broad Avenue is a quiet neighborhood, but residents are seeing an increase in theft and other crimes, such as prostitution.

“There are a lot of girls that are trafficked on this street. It’s very, very sad and unfortunate to watch them,” Southside resident Helen Hyatt said. “You see them in the pouring rain. You see them in the sunshine.”

Hyatt, who has lived in the Southside area for 10 years, is serving as a neighborhood coordinator.

“The residual part impacting residents is the johns because they troll up and down the streets,” Hyatt said.

Hyatt recently led a neighborhood meeting where prostitution concerns were raised.

“At the meeting, there was a woman who had a 14-year-old daughter and she was going up the street to do some work for a lady,” Hyatt said. “The van goes slowly next to her, stops, shouts out, ‘Hey baby, you want a ride?’ It’s very unnerving.”

Asheville Police Capt. Mike Lamb said residents have expressed their concerns about an increase in crime in that area, including a recent attempted robbery. One neighbor has started a GoFundMe page for the victim.

While the crimes are unnerving, Hyatt acknowledged the challenge to get help since APD staffing is down 40 percent. Hyatt said she knows investigating prostitution can be labor- and time-intensive for police.

“They just don’t have the personnel for it. The choice is you call it in, but nothing will really happen. And you see new faces almost every day,” she said.

Lamb said, to try to tamp down on prostitution, Murray Hill Park has barricades in place to keep potential johns from parking and soliciting or doing deals for drugs.

“Being able to address prostitution is a difficult task for police departments,” Lamb said. “It takes undercover officers.”

Hyatt and others want to help the women involved but they know the reality.

“You call it in, but nothing will really happen,” Hyatt said. “The girls are worked even more.”

News 13 spoke with a South French Broad Avenue resident who spoke on the condition News 13 would not use her name. She moved from San Francisco four years ago and said she’s felt a shift in the lack of police response to various crime calls.

The police department removed a substation that operated from the basement of Aston Towers, a long-time highrise for public housing.

“Police were more accessible, more responsive,” she said. “So, when things like trespassing or package theft happened, I got immediate follow-up. And now, I’m not even sure I can get someone out.”

Lamb said the station was pulled because of police shortages.

“We are still at staffing that’s 40% down,” Lamb said. “I looked at the numbers compared to when I was hired in 1998, and we have less officers now.”

Lamb, who does community and neighborhood relations, had a police colleague attend Southside’s recent neighborhood meeting.

Residents asked how to increase safety inside their homes. Answers included keeping lights on and having an active email chain to alert neighbors of any suspicious activity.

Lamb said residents can always call 911 for help, but with the staff shortage, response to more petty crimes like porch package thefts won’t be a priority.

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