Axios Raleigh
August 20, 2024
1 big thing: Violent crime drops in Raleigh, but homicides rise
In the first six months of this year, overall violent crime declined in Raleigh for the second consecutive year while the number of homicides climbed, painting a complicated picture of the state of crime that city leaders have struggled to address in recent years.
Why it matters: A string of incidents in downtown Raleigh in the past year, including several stabbings at the downtown bus station, has made crime a major talking point among the City Council and local businesses.
- In the past year, however, the number of violent crimes reported has decreased by 22%, Raleigh police shared earlier this month, showing some progress has been made.
By the numbers: Overall violent crime declined a modest 5% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to Raleigh Police Department data reported by the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
- Meanwhile, other crimes — including assault, disorderly conduct, fraud, human trafficking, drug violations, motor vehicle theft and weapons violations — reached 10-year highs in the first half of this year, WRAL reported from data presented by Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson's second quarter crime report last month.
Yes, but: The number of murders in Raleigh so far this year is still lower than during the same period in 2022, when the city recorded nearly 50 homicides — the highest in its 30 years of tracking.
Reality check: As one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, Raleigh's rise in crime isn't surprising.
- "What is unique to Raleigh is the [population] growth. With that growth, you're going to have a segment of the population that is committing the crime," Patterson said in last month's news conference, WRAL reported.
2. Meet the Raleigh reporter who chronicled the downfall of the Murdaugh dynasty
Valerie Bauerlein, a Raleigh-based reporter who covers the Southeast for The Wall Street Journal, spent nearly three years traipsing around South Carolina's Lowcountry to document the fall of the Murdaugh family dynasty.
Why it matters: When Alex Murdaugh, the scion of a legal and political institution in South Carolina, was accused of murdering his wife and son in 2021 it captured the nation's attention.
- Bauerlein dug deep into thousands of pages of historical records to document the Murdaugh's family penchant for existing outside of the law and interviewed hundreds of sources about the killings and events leading up to them.
Driving the news: Bauerlein's effort at tackling the saga, a book called "The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty," is out today.
Axios spoke with Bauerlein about the book. Responses have been edited for Smart Brevity.
Why do you think this family from a small town captured international attention?
I didn't consider myself a true crime fan, and I've never really gotten into shows like "Law & Order," but one of the smartest analyses of the Murdoch case was by the showrunner for "Law & Order."
- People are interested in the most extreme part of human nature. And they're also interested in watching procedurals, like how did they figure it out? How does it end?
- And then mostly we are satisfied with justice, and the fact that Alex Murdaugh was convicted against many people's predictions, including mine, was gratifying to people.
Plus, people are familiar with how privilege ultimately gets corrupted from the inside.
- I was able to study dynasties, and they typically fail in the fourth or fifth generation. That privilege, no accountability and having everything given to you, rots them from the inside, and that's what happened.
3. The Tea: RDU to update bathrooms
4. ☀️ 1 PB&J for breakfast to go
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