Curious about crime in Raleigh? Police chief talks 2023 homicides, car thefts, gun crimes

Homicides fell but car thefts rose during the first quarter of the year, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said during a crime update Thursday.

During the first three months of 2023, police recorded:

▪ Five homicides compared to 12 homicides during the first quarter of last year.

• Two of the homicides were gang related
• Police have made arrests in three of the five homicides

▪ A 26% increase in motor-vehicle thefts from the first quarter of last year; there were 386 thefts during the first three months of this year.

▪ A total of 418 recovered stolen vehicles, compared to 388 a year prior.

▪ A total of 91 robberies of a person, the same number reported a year prior.

▪ A total of 282 aggravated assaults, a 4% increase from a year prior. Firearms were used in 118 of them, compared to 120 last year.

Firearm assaults in Raleigh

Patterson said 42% of the aggravated assaults involved firearms and that removing guns from dangerous offenders is a priority for the Police Department.

“When nearly half of all aggravated assaults involve a firearm that’s something that should concern all of us,” she said.

She also mentioned the department’s “saturation patrol” in January that put more officers in Glenwood South and along Capital Boulevard.

The patrol led to 54 DWI arrests, more than 100 speeding citations, 36 violations for driving without a license, 20 drug charges and four vehicle seizures.

Glenwood South has been an ongoing challenge for police.

In April North Carolina first lady Kristin Cooper took to her neighborhood listserv to complain about rowdy spillover from the nightlife district after a man tried to kick in the door of her and Gov. Roy Cooper’s private home, The News & Observer reported.

In one message Cooper said the “simplest thing would be for the city to just enforce the noise, public drunkenness and drunk driving laws.”

ACORNS expanding

Also at her update, Patterson said the ACORNS unit (Addressing Crises through Outreach, Referrals, Networking and Service), will be expanding by up to three more social workers. ACORNS pairs officers with social workers on mental health crisis and other calls,

The department is still struggling with staffing levels, the chief said.

There are still roughly 100 vacancies, out of approximately 800 positions in the Raleigh Police Department.

Patterson took just three questions from reporters after the crime update and declined to provide details on her budget request to the Raleigh city manager. The manager’s recommended spending plan will be presented to the City Council next week.

This story was originally published May 11, 2023 at 3:28 PM.