gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648
DURHAM -- Citywide crime counts dropped by about 3 percent in 2009, led by significant decreases in the eastern and northern parts of Durham, police said during a briefing for elected officials Monday night.
There were 13,316 major crimes in the city during the year, 369 fewer than in 2008, according to the report presented to the City Council by Police Chief Jose Lopez.
Violent crimes -- homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults -- were down 11 percent. Counts in all four categories dropped over the year, to 1,605. That was 205 fewer than the year before.
Robberies were the focus of a special effort by police, Lopez said.
The chief said the city benefited from the decision of court-system officials to raise bonds for crimes involving the use of a weapon. Many accused robbers remain behind bars.
"It's quite clear you and I were right when we went to the courts about this," Lopez told Mayor Bill Bell, referring to lobbying effort he and the mayor mounted amongst Durham's judges and magistrates.
Property crime -- the much-more-numerous burglaries, larcenies and motor-vehicle thefts -- was down about 1 percent.
The only category that showed an increase for the year was burglary, but it appears to have peaked in the late summer and early fall, Lopez said.
The overall count of property crime came in at 11,711, down 164 on the year.
Police estimate that burglars and thieves collectively stole more than $10.6 million worth of goods from Durham residents in 2009.
Lopez also said department leaders are pleased with the ongoing Operation Bull's Eye initiative, an effort to tamp down crime in North-East Central Durham.
Figures for the Police Department's five operating districts show that the biggest drops in crime in 2009 occurred in District 1, which covers North-East Central and other parts of east Durham.
Overall crime there was down about 10 percent, with the count in the district dropping by 286 crimes to 2,521.
Lopez said Bull's Eye -- which involves concentrated patrol and investigative efforts -- has roughly halved violent crime in North-East Central Durham since the last half of 2006.
Similar drops are evident in the neighborhoods surrounding the target area, he said.
There was also a 2-percent drop in overall crime in District 2, which covers the northern parts of the city.
Crime counts in Districts 3 and 4, which cover the southern and western parts of Durham, were mostly stable.
There was a small increase in District 5, which covers Durham's downtown business district, with the count rising by 14 crimes to 611. That translated into a 2 percent increase.
Lopez noted that two recent surveys -- one by the city, the other by the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau -- gave the Durham Police Department's crime-control efforts good marks.
Council members were clearly pleased by the numbers. "This is the road we need to be on in terms of improvement," Councilman Eugene Brown said.
