Gun violence problem will confront new Raleigh police chief

While shootings in Durham get most of the headlines locally, gun violence is a problem in Raleigh as well, one that incoming Police Chief Estella Patterson will have to address.

Posted 8:20 p.m. Jun 18, 2021 — Updated 11:38 p.m. Jun 18, 2021

Keely Arthur

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — While shootings in Durham get most of the headlines locally, gun violence is a problem in Raleigh as well, one that incoming Police Chief Estella Patterson will have to address.

On Thursday night alone, a shooting near downtown Raleigh left one man wounded, and another shooting in northeast Raleigh wounded a second man.

City Councilman Corey Branch said crime is up in Raleigh, and he said he's hopeful Patterson will reverse that trend.

Patterson has been a deputy chief for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for the past two years, overseeing patrol services. Charlotte has a high rate of crime, ranking safer than only 7 percent of cities nationwide on NeighborhoodScout.com, a real estate and demographic analytics site.

By comparison, Raleigh ranks safer than 27 percent of U.S. cities, according to the site.

Patterson hasn't responded to repeated interview requests, but WRAL News found a month-old interview from Charlotte where she states that prevention is the key to stopping violent crime.

"I talk to my officers all the time," she said in the interview. "I say it’s important for us not to just be in those communities for enforcement. We should really be in these communities for visibility. They should see us even before a crime occurs or an incident happens."

But Greear Webb, a member of the Raleigh Police Advisory Board, said he believes that’s not the right approach for Raleigh.

"Data even proves this: Police do not overly prevent crime," Webb said. "That's why I’m a huge advocate of investing in the community outside of the police department, in mental health [and] in affordable housing.

"I think we need to look at truly investing in the community and not putting all of our eggs in one basket," he added.

Patterson takes charge of the Raleigh Police Department on Aug. 1. Current Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown will retire on June 30, and Deputy Chief Todd Jordan will serve as interim chief in July.

Suggest A Correction