InTown Suites crime numbers down in High Point after community activism

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — A homicide investigation in January was the last straw for the Oakview community. They were fed up with reported violence and disturbances at the InTown Suites hotel on North Main Street in High Point.

An Oakview citizens group compiled the data. Police responded to that one hotel almost 1,000 times between 2020 and 2022. It’s one of the five biggest hotel crime hot spots in the city.

The group organized a community meeting with police and elected officials in February, demanding change.

Calls for criminal activity at the extended stay hotel have gone down compared to the same time frame last year, February to September, and for the people who live nearby, it’s a step in the right direction.

I feel like things are going in a positive direction,” said Jim Bronnert, community advocate and organizer.

Bronnert went to business owners and neighbors who live near the hotel, handing out an anonymous survey this spring.

Commenters said they wanted someone to reduce the danger in the area, and kids were scared to play in the neighborhood.

Some of the comments submitted were:

The city, from administrative leadership to the High Point Police Department, has worked to do something.

There have been more than 300 calls for service since Feb. 2024. 23 calls were for trespassing, and 42 others were for criminal activity and disturbance issues.

186 of those calls were initiated by the HPD themselves, and 151 were special checks.

Special checks are where officers drove or walked around inside and outside the property looking for anything suspicious and speaking with people to get tips.

Last year from February to September, there were 268 calls with 143 self-initiated by police, including 66 special checks.

Special checks have more than doubled, and criminal calls have gone down.

“It’s nice to see … This isn’t going to be a quick process, but it’s nice to see something is looking better than it was,” Bronnert said.

Ward Four Councilman Patrick Harman says the city and law enforcement met with InSuites upper management, leading to some changes.

“They’ve moved a few folks out who were causing problems. They have towed some abandoned cars. They’re fixing up a few of the rooms,” Harman said.

Harman says the hotel is also considering private security.

High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson says all progress is a tip of the cap to concerned community members.

“If High Point is going to be here another 165 years, it will be because of every High Pointer who calls this place home, takes pride in it and is not OK with things happening and us not doing something about it,” Jefferson said.

The citizens group requested the city keep a close eye on the area where the hotel sits as well as people nearby experiencing homelessness, which is something Jefferson says his administration is working on for the entire city weekly.

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