With gun killings climbing fast in Durham, a packed community room on Friday turned into a kind of emergency town hall, as city and county leaders sat face to face with residents for a City-County conversation on how to stop the violence.
The session, one of several planned as part of a broader community engagement push, pulled together residents, public safety staff and community advocates to trade ideas on prevention, from youth programs to data-driven street interventions. Officials said these conversations will shape a multi-month plan aimed squarely at reducing gun violence across the city.
As reported by CBS17, Durham Police Department officials told attendees that 13 people have been killed so far this year, a roughly 62% jump from the same point last year. Ryan Smith, director of Durham’s Community Safety Department, told the outlet, “we lose too many people to gun violence; one person is one too many,” and said he believes there are concrete steps the city can take in the next 12 months to save lives. Police and safety staff framed the series of conversations as a way to make both short- and long-term responses more focused and more clearly led by community priorities.
More Sessions Already On The Calendar
The City of Durham has multiple community conversations lined up this month as officials work to collect public input and prioritize which strategies to move on first. The city’s events calendar lists sessions on March 13, March 20 and March 21 as part of the City-County Community Conversation series, with both virtual and in-person options available…