Glenwood South arrests rise 275% in recent months, Raleigh police chief reports
Raleigh police report arrests have nearly quadrupled in Glenwood South over recent months as officers combat an outcry over crime in the troubled nightlife district.
Chief Estella Patterson said Wednesday that arrests there totaled 150 in the third quarter, which covers July, August and September — a 275% increase over the same period in 2022.
Over the same time, Raleigh officers confiscated 85 firearms compared to 20 over the same period in 2022, while noise complaint calls in Glenwood South dropped from 86 to 58.
“We are going to be in the downtown and Glenwood South area,” Patterson said at a news conference, citing her department’s zero tolerance policy. “We are taking an approach where if you are committing a crime in those areas, we are taking enforcement action.”
The chief’s comments came as businesses around downtown Raleigh, especially in the Glenwood South district, complain of crime making an outrageous spike.
One Glenwood South bar and downtown coffee shop owner described her staff being regularly assaulted, groped and threatened, and several others told the City Council last month that their properties are strewn drug needles and feces.
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said in September that Raleigh will hire private security officers to patrol the area around its downtown transit center along with parts of Wilmington Street. Her announcement came after a stabbing at the bus station and reports of juveniles running through businesses harassing employees.
Patterson said at Wednesday’s news conference that private security “can supplement what we are doing.” She said the department has 82 vacancies it hopes to partially fill when a new recruit class graduates.
The chief said police made 177 arrests in downtown Raleigh over a recent five-week period, not including those in Glenwood South. Of those, 71 were for felonies.
She added officers also made 18 referrals to the ACORNS unit, which handles crises involving mental health and homelessness without necessarily making an arrest.
Other highlights from Raleigh police’s third-quarter data include:
▪ Homicides dropped from 15 to 13 in that period, a 13% decline from the same period last year.
▪ Aggravated assault rose from 270 to 319, up 18%
▪ Aggravated assault with a firearm went up from 99 to 139, a 40% increase.
▪ Motor vehicle theft rose sharply from 343 to 501, a sharp 40% rise.
Patterson said summer months can partially explain such increases.
“When it is warm outside and the day is long, we tend to see these upticks,” she said.
This story was originally published October 18, 2023 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Glenwood South arrests rise 275% in recent months, Raleigh police chief reports."