The Community Oriented Problem Solving (COPS) team is back in Swannanoa during June and early July. COPS teams are composed of five officers who work for approximately five weeks in specific communities to address public safety and quality-of-life concerns. The Sheriff’s Office started the COPS program in 2012 to build community partnerships, and to provide additional resources to address community problems. Teams have been assigned to Swannanoa several times over the past 5 years.

The COPS team is currently looking for information about ongoing community issues in Swannanoa and eastern Buncombe County. If you’d like to report an issue, please call 828-255-5555, or post the information to the COPS team inbox on www.nextdoor.com (see article below on how to join Nextdoor). As always, if your situation is an emergency, please call 911.

Sheriff Van Duncan and the COPS team will share their findings and results with the Swannanoa community at a public meeting on Thursday, July 6, at 6:00 pm at Swannanoa’s Bee Tree Fire Station, 510 Bee Tree Rd.