EDITOR'S NOTE: Peter Scott is president and Hilda Pinnix-Ragland is vice president of Citizens for a Safe & Secure Raleigh, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit and nonpartisan organization.

The first duty of any government is to keep its people safe and secure. And yet, despite notable successes and national accolades, Raleigh has neglected its most important job.

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Raleigh is America’s third-fastest-growing big city, but its police force has fallen far behind. The public does not feel safe, surveys show. Raleigh residents, visitors, and business owners deserve better.

Raleigh’s growth has outstripped its public safety staffing, unlike other cities. Consider:

  • Raleigh’s population grew 13% over the past decade, but the city added only 3% more police department staff, compared to a 20% surge in other city positions.
    • As a result, our police are spread too thin to deter rising crime and to respond adequately to emergencies. A crime occurs in Raleigh every 12 minutes.
      • Murders here are up a whopping 78% so far in 2024, compared to last year. Rapes increased 17%, and Raleighites were the victims of 193 robberies and 543 aggravated assaults, according to the latest national crime report.
        • Despite serving North Carolina’s second-largest city, police in Raleigh earn $23,000 less per year than officers in Charlotte. Six smaller North Carolina cities pay officers more. Meanwhile, Durham is raising pay for police by 22% this year.

          How Raleigh compares

          According to a 2020 study comparing its per capita police staffing to that of nine other U.S. cities, Raleigh lags significantly, with 1.89 police staff per 1,000 population, versus an average of 2.65 for the other cities. The nine cities, on average, have about 40 percent more staff per 1,000 residents than Raleigh. Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Durham all have higher per-capita police staffing.

          If Raleigh boosted its staffing to just the average of 2.65 police staff per 1,000 residents, there would be 362 more employees patrolling streets, answering calls, fighting crime, and helping citizens. Imagine the improvement in public safety if we had almost 400 more officers protecting our neighborhoods, workplaces, roads, schools, and shopping areas.

          According to a recent Allstate study, Raleigh ranks just 68th out of the country’s 100 largest cities in driving behavior – worse than drivers in such larger cities as Atlanta, Las Vegas, Boston, and New York City. Could this be in part because of Raleigh’s chronic police shortage?

          There’s no excuse for North Carolina’s capital city to rank so poorly. Raleigh must do better.

          Citizens deserve better

          Raleigh residents want – and deserve – better representation from their elected City Council.

          More than half of Raleigh voters fear that crime will get worse in their neighborhoods, and almost three-fourths expect it to worsen downtown, an April citywide survey found.

          Compared to voters’ other concerns, crime is twice as important as city taxes and three times as important as jobs and the economy. Two-thirds of city voters rate crime as very important.

          Raleigh’s elected leaders haven’t done nearly enough. Our city needs a new commitment to public safety, one that includes competitive pay and enhanced officer training and equipment.

          Raleigh’s police force has a strong and capable leader in Chief Estella Patterson. She needs the full support of the City Council and the budget to adequately protect our city.

          Public safety is Raleigh’s greatest need. It should be the entire City Council’s top priority.

          To serve and protect

          Our City Council should provide:

          1. Appropriate police staffing: A sworn police force large enough to ensure the safety and security of residents, visitors, and businesses in every neighborhood.
            1. Adequate police funding: Competitive pay, benefits, and working conditions to attract and retain excellent officers of all ranks.
              1. Superior officers: The best police training, procedures, and practices and the highest professional ethics to bolster public accountability, confidence, and trust.
                1. Necessary tools: State-of-the-art equipment and facilities to enable officers to work safely and effectively.
                  1. Homelessness action: Promotion of innovative, caring solutions for the unhoused living and camping throughout our city.
                    1. Honor for those who serve: Advocacy for their work, remembrance of the fallen and support for their families.

                      It’s time for Raleigh to unite for a safer capital city. Citizens for a Safe & Secure Raleigh is a new nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to ensuring robust public safety.

                      We envision a thriving city where each resident, visitor, and worker feels respected and protected, safeguarding the security of everyone in our growing, dynamic community. Find out how you can help at safeandsecureraleigh.org. Together, let’s make the city we love safer and more secure.

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