Reported crimes near Moore Square in downtown Raleigh drop 50% in 1st quarter of 2024
Moore Square and the downtown bus station area saw a 50% decrease in major reported crimes during the first part of the year compared to 2023, Raleigh police announced Friday.
Major crimes in the overall downtown district fell 22% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
The district includes downtown Raleigh, the Glenwood South nightlife area and Moore Square and has some of the city’s best-known buildings, including the Executive Mansion, State Capitol Building, Raleigh Banking and Trust and Raleigh Convention Center.
Major crimes include violent crimes like assaults, homicides and robberies but also some property crimes like commercial and noncommercial burglaries.
Raleigh police stepped up patrols and hired private security to patrol parts of downtown, including in and around Moore Square, after an uptick in reported crime and complaints from downtown businesses owners and residents last year.
The city of Raleigh briefed reporters on the year-over-year crime statistics Friday afternoon at the park.
They credited partnerships with private security hired by the city and Downtown Raleigh Alliance but also noted that police have also pulled more officers into the downtown area.
“That is a marked decrease in something that is palpable when you walk through the GoRaleigh station and into Moore Square park,” said Downtown District Capt. Matthew VanAntwerp.
Evan Raleigh, assistant city manager, said Moore Square saw one of its busiest weekends since it reopened in 2019 earlier this month with over 7,000 weekend visitors.
“I think that is really a testament to how good folks are now feeling about being in downtown and bringing their families,” he said.
Summer increase
The Raleigh Police Department has about 80 to 90 vacancies, or about 10% of its force.
Some officers working downtown have been pulled from other field divisions because “the chief has recognized that our downtown district is a really important part of what we have going on city wide.”
“We’d like to be able to use as much pressure as necessary and as little as possible when it comes to the enforcement of criminal activity in the downtown area,” VanAntwerp said.
He acknowledged that putting more police in certain parts of downtown can move crime into other Raleigh blocks.
“That’s something we are constantly addressing,” he said.
The complaints last year were primarily driven by incidents that occurred in the summer. Crime could increase again as the city enters warmer months, he said.
“There is a natural upward trend in crime,” he said. “If you’ve lived in Raleigh for any period of time, you know that as the temperature increases five degrees, the Police Department and as residents, we’ve got to stay vigilant.”
Earlier this week the department announced the city had received over $600,000 in federal funding to modernize its “real-time” crime center.
“I firmly believe that when we equip our officers with the equipment they need they then can effectively prevent crime, they can efficiently respond to crime in progress and they can deter crime from happening in the first place,” Police Chief Estella Patterson said during a press conference earlier this week.
