There has been no increase in violent crime in the Capital city within the last year, according to Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce. 

In a media conference to discuss the results of the department’s new summer action plan, Boyce said he was pleased to report that violent crime, year-to-date, is flat. 

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The department has not seen any changes in homicides, and robberies, aggravated assaults and property crime are down 6 to 12%, Boyce said. Commercial burglaries are up 3%, residential burglaries are down 14%, larcenies are down 3%, larceny for motor vehicles are down 19% and motor vehicle thefts are down 27%, Boyce said, an important number in his eyes. 

Raleigh's chief credited the decreased number of vehicle thefts to the Auto Theft Task Force, which was established in June 2024. 

The plan's goals included eliminating violent crime, removing dangerous firearms and holding repeat offenders accountable in four main areas of focus in the city: 

  • nightlife and event spaces
    • parks and greenways
      • transportation hubs
        • hospitality streets around nightlife

          An important strategy the department is enforcing to reduce crime is utilizing existing data and resources to strategically deploy officers where they’re needed most. An example of this strategy is the police department's revamped hospitality units in downtown districts such as Glenwood South and Fayetteville Street. 

          Boyce said he assigned personnel to those districts, especially on weekend nights, to allow police to be visible, present and respond quickly to calls for service. More importantly, he said this setup allows the department to build relationships with local business, organizations and residents. 

          “As your chief, I want you to know that I hear you, I see you, and I support you,” Boyce said. “I'm going to do all I can within my authority to make sure I use our crime fighting tools to keep this city safe.”

          One area that the department is struggling to address is noise ordinance violations. 

          Boyce said that during the summer, Raleigh police have seen an increase in noise violations, especially from cars and motorcycles with modified mufflers. He did not provide an exact percentage or number of how much these violations have increased. 

          “In response, we’re working closely with city leadership, city manager’s office, city council and the mayor, as well as deploying saturation patrols to address loud vehicles and excessive noise, especially in our high traffic areas here,” Boyce said.

          In the past two months, Boyce said the department has been very proactive, operating two nuisance noise operations where officers will focus more on loud cars on the roads. He said these operations have been “very successful” and are going to continue throughout the year. 

          When asked what the strategies would be for enforcing a noise ordinance for vehicles, Boyce said that the department’s partnerships with other law enforcement officials will focus on high traffic areas where they see these violations occurring. Then, they will take the “necessary enforcement action to reduce that.”

          Boyce said they also plan to educate violators about modifying mufflers, which is a violation of North Carolina general statutes. 

          “It’s all about working together to reduce those loud noises…and seeing how we can strike a balance between business owners, as well as our community, and providing a great quality of life,” Boyce added.

          Boyce began to end the conference by mentioning the department’s efforts to keep community engagement up. He said that, while crime is down, he’s equally proud to say that engagement is up, especially through youth-focused programs like summer camps and casual police events. He said that the positive feedback from these community events will continue beyond the summer, since they performed so well. 

          Boyce said the department plans to restart a Community Police Academy that is starting Oct. 2, which will invite Raleigh residents to experience first-hand and learn more about police officers and their roles in the city. The goal of the program is to offer more transparency for the public.

          “Being a city of over half a million residents, with 147 square miles of jurisdiction, it’s important as a chief to be strategically thinking about where to place resources to keep our community safe,” Boyce said. “We're going to continue to work with our community, to leverage partnerships and to pour into our youth to make sure that we create a sense of safety for each and every person here in the Capital city.”