Report shows violent crime down in Durham, but staff vacancies up

Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews presented the crime report to city council on Thursday, detailing crime statistics, staffing numbers, response times, clearance rates and recruitment efforts.

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"As we start to look at how serious our shootings are becoming, one person being shot is very serious. Multiple people being shot: very concerning and extremely serious," Andrews told city council.

Although violent crime as a whole has decreased, robberies are up 32%.

Andrews says firearms are used in the majority of robberies, and when they’re stolen from vehicles, those are usually unlocked.

Multiple elected officials pointed out during the work session that the last month has been quiet in Durham.

"Keeping in mind that we did lose a young person in Durham yesterday, a lot of us have been marking the days that we’ve gone without. Yesterday was a sad day," said Mayor Elaine O’Neal. "The streets have been silent for one month."

"The streets are, I’m not going to say they’re getting quieter, but we need to name when things are happening that are not as negative as what we’re used to," said Leonardo Williams, a city councilor.

In an interview after her presentation, she said she’s outraged about that preventable crime.

"Are you comfortable if your car gets broken into, and your gun gets stolen out of it, that you’ve left in it unsecured, and then that person takes that gun and goes and kills a member of the community? Or goes and kills a child, are you going to be able to sleep at night?" she questioned.

Durham City Councilor Javiera Caballero expressed her concerns about the guns in the community.

"The impact of what those guns are doing quite frankly is terrifying," Caballero said during the meeting.

The Durham Police Department’s clearance rate, or the number of cases solved, has trended up over the last few months.

Andrews told Councilors the latest clearance rate for homicides the second quarter of 2022 was 30.43%. She said they’ve also solved multiple homicides from 2021 recently.

"What that says to family members of our victims and our community is that while we might not be able to close a case immediately, we are always, always investigating every one of our cases, homicides and across the board," Andrews said.

In an interview after her presentation, Andrews told WRAL clearing cases is a priority for DPD.

"My team will continue to work the cases, the will continue to bring people to justice, because that’s just what they do," Andrews said.

The department’s goal is to be on scene after dispatch in 5 minutes and 48 seconds; their current average is 6 minutes and 20 seconds.

Another priority for DPD is staffing.

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Andrews told council that number has decreased further in just the last two months.

"I want to fast-forward to say currently we’re at 79% staffed," Andrews said.

She pointed to more officers retiring; that number is almost equal to the number of sworn employees who have resigned. She also explained that recently graduated academy classes haven’t started on the job.

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"We understand that the housing market is causing an additional tax because they have to drive to Durham and can’t afford to live here, so it’s another issue we need to get to the bottom of as we’re addressing other issues," Williams said.

Andrews also spoke about recruitment; she said DPD is getting creative, using a mobile unit.

"We are going to places that I’ve never even heard of in the state of North Carolina and actually recruiting out of basic law enforcement classes at community colleges," Andrews said.