In 2012, the combined number of property crimes and violent crimes reached its lowest point in 23 years, according to an annual report released by the Durham Police Department.
The rate of violent crime per 100,000 persons in Durham, which includes such incidents as homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, decreased 1 percent from 2011 to 2012. The actual number of violent crime offenses, however, increased slightly from 1,712 incidents in 2011 to 1,721 in 2012. Violent crime composed 14 percent of all crime in Durham in 2012.
In contrast, property crimes such as burglary, larceny, vehicle theft and property crime fell 9 percent—a total of 969 fewer incidents from 2011 to 2012. Burglaries specifically fell 15 percent.
The report noted that DPD cleared 49.5 percent of violent crime cases and 22.2 percent of property crimes cases, adding that the rates were above the FBI’s 2012 clearance rates.
“The department’s goal was to have a violent crime clearance rate of 45 percent and a property crime clearance rate of 22 percent,” the report’s executive summary reads. “We met our property crime goal and significantly exceeded our goal for violent crime clearance.”
The report attributes some of this decrease in burglaries to the Residential Awareness Program, an initiative launched in 2012. Through the program, DPD analyzes target areas with recent burglaries, and designated community resource unit police officers inform residents about the incidents going door-to-door. Police officers also conduct additional patrols in areas designated as high risk. Burglaries in Durham dropped about 15 percent in 2012.
There were also 21 homicides in 2012, with victims ranging from 13 to 81 years old. The number is down 19 percent from 26 homicides that occurred in 2011.
Durham police also launched a special victims unit in 2012, which focuses on sexual crimes and child abuse. Reported rapes increased 11 percent from 2011 to 2012 from 66 to 73 incidents, but some reports made in 2012 referred to assaults in earlier years.
The report also states that the staff positions at the police department were nearly full. All 514 sworn positions were filled by the end of 2012, and civilian staff filled 91 percent of its 117-position capacity.
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