City of Raleigh addresses safety concerns as thousands head downtown for Hopscotch Festival
An estimated 25,000 people will be in downtown Raleigh this weekend for the Hopscotch Festival.
Shows are happening at several venues across the area, including at Moore Square.
WRAL's Data Trackers looked at crime trends in the downtown area where Hopscotch is taking place, from the Warehouse District to Moore Square.
Just in the past eight months, Raleigh Police have reported the following crimes:
- 252 drug offenses
- 216 assaults
- 182 thefts (specifically in this part of downtown)
The number of assaults is up 16% from the same time period last year in this area, and the number of assaults is up 37 percent from the last pre-COVID year, 2019.
Here's a graph of the number of assaults Raleigh police reported over nine years from 2015 to 2023. There was an increase in the number of assaults from 128 in 2015 to 216 in 2023.
Drug offenses have more than doubled in the past year -- from 125 in in the first eight months of 2022 to more than 250 so far this year.
Reports of theft (or larceny) are up slightly, with 5% more reported in 2023 than in the same time period in 2022.
Raleigh police are now looking to hire private security to help them combat the rise in crime.
There have been no crime reports from the Hopscotch Festival Thursday night.
"Our office has not been notified about specific incidents related to the festival," Raleigh police said.
However, on Friday, there was a robbery at The Big Easy. Raleigh police responded to a reported robbery Friday at 222 Fayetteville St. The manager received minor injuries, according to police.
For the first eight months of this year from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, these are the number of police reports taken for the following crimes:
Assault: 216
Drugs: 177
Drug violations: 75
Larceny: 112
Larceny from MV: 70
Vandalism: 65
Weapons violations: 38
Disorderly conduct: 35
Fraud: 34
Motor vehicle thefts: 26
Robberies: 26
Traffic violations: 15
Stolen property: 8
Sex offenses: 6
Home burglaries: 4
Arson: 3
Liquor law violations: 3
Extortion: 2
Embezzlement: 1
Kidnapping: 1
Murder: 1
