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DURHAM — Despite a murder rate that doubled last year, Durham police say the city is safer.
Police Chief Teresa Chambers presented a year-end crime report to city council members. While the number of murders and rapes were up for the year 2000, the number of other crimes decreased significantly. Overall, Durham's crime rate was down 7 percent.
"Do we have a lot of things yet left to do as a community in Durham>You bet," she says. "One murder is too many, and one robbery is too many, but we do a disservice to our community if we do not pause and reflect on the successes we've had in the past year."
There is one area of disappointment for the police department. Last year, police solved just 12 percent of all cases.
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