Durham City Council Work Session - Feb. 19, 2026: Violent Crime Declines, Police Hiring, and Neighborhood Investments
The Durham City Council reviews falling violent crime numbers, shifting gun trends, and progress rebuilding the police force, while weighing diversion, youth violence, and support for low-income homeowners. Councilmembers also hear residents challenge the Pickett Road rezoning, celebrate new participatory budgeting projects across parks and public spaces, and examine both a major Jordan Lake water plan shift and a disparity study on city contracting. 47mins
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Original Meeting
Thursday, February 19th, 2026
12998.0
Durham City Council Work Session Feb 19, 2026
Video Notes
Welcome to the City Council Work Session for February 19, 2026.
Agenda: https://www.durhamnc.gov/AgendaCenter/City-Council-4
How to participate: https://www.durhamnc.gov/1345
Contact the City Council: https://www.durhamnc.gov/1323
NOTE: Comments left on this livestream will not be read or entered into the meeting record
Wes Platt
Durham, NC
In This Video
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A police representative reported that robberies fell sharply, aggravated assaults dropped to a 10‑year low with intimate partner violence making up about a quarter of cases, Hispanic residents continued to face disproportionate robbery impacts, and Durham’s overall violent crime rate declined for the fifth straight year to 482 per 100,000 residents in 2025.
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A police representative cautioned against labeling specific communities as inherently dangerous while reporting that about a quarter of violent crimes involved shots fired, shootings and gun injuries decreased, 831 mostly stolen guns were seized in 2025 (down 15% from prior years), and residents were urged not to leave firearms unsecured in vehicles.
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A police representative reported that gunshot wounds peaked in 2020 and fell to 170 in 2025, noted that about 45 victims arrived at hospitals by private vehicle which complicated investigations, and explained that factors like possible retaliation and changes in who is incarcerated or back in the community influenced shooting patterns.
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A police representative reported that motor vehicle thefts declined and most stolen vehicles were recovered even as larcenies—largely vehicle break-ins and shoplifting—trended upward, overall property crime stayed just below the city’s target rate, and an unusually high share of guns were stolen from cars, often by breaking windows.
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A police representative described how investigators relied on quick evidence collection, community cooperation, and partnerships with other jurisdictions to clear cases, and clarified that most violent and property crimes were cleared by arrest rather than conviction, with a smaller share exceptionally cleared when charges could not be brought.
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A police representative reported that 404 of 531 sworn positions were filled with additional academy classes and 73 recruits in the pipeline, non-sworn staffing stood at 92.4% with vacancies filled quickly, and higher pay and incentives helped attract more applicants, including 104 who completed testing in the third quarter.
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A police representative highlighted the success of bringing in lateral officers through short transition trainings, showcased a unique pre-academy program that drew media attention, and explained that adjustments to a new state training model helped the academy retain more recruits by better supporting how they learn.
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Chief Andrews said that both shooting incidents and the number of people shot had declined compared to 2024, the average guns per incident in the fourth quarter was 1.32, and juvenile involvement in crimes—especially vehicle break-ins—had increased, leading to more secured custody orders and higher charging rates.
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Chief Andrews described the misdemeanor diversion program as a long-standing success that gave people of all ages second chances through officer-directed referrals, while noting that rising rates of more serious juvenile offenses were reducing eligibility for diversion even as courts could still incorporate it into overall adjudications.
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Carmen Ortiz reported that Durham’s participatory budgeting engaged both new and long-time residents—about 40% with a bachelor’s degree or less—with women participating at higher rates than men, and explained how residents used ranked ballots with numerical values to select which projects received the most votes.
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Carmen Ortiz described two Cycle 4 participatory budgeting projects: a $350,000 accessible public restroom in central downtown to serve residents, visitors, and unhoused people while easing pressure on businesses, and the $150,000 “Walls That Speak” initiative to create eight murals across neighborhoods honoring Durham’s history, culture, and communities.
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Carmen Ortiz outlined additional Cycle 4 participatory budgeting projects—including $100,000 to support unhoused residents and transit users, $1.2 million to renovate the long-requested Durham Skate Park, and $750,000 for a new, ADA-accessible Bethesda Park with shade structures—while describing next steps for implementing the projects and evaluating the cycle with the PB steering committee and innovation team.
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Dave Miller outlined the purpose of the city’s disparity study as a data-driven, legally defensible assessment of who receives public contracting dollars compared with who is available, explaining that it was designed to align procurement with Durham’s values and to give council fact-based evidence for future policy decisions rather than advocate specific reforms.
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Dave Miller explained that more than 15 city departments contributed to the disparity study as part of a citywide collaborative effort and outlined next steps in finalizing findings, using contingency funds to move quickly from study to action, and tracking results through KPIs and a performance dashboard for ongoing council oversight.
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Sid Miller explained a revised Jordan Lake water project plan that would pump raw water to a new Durham treatment plant instead of building a regional plant at the lake, yielding some cost savings, operational benefits, and improved water quality by treating water closer to the city’s distribution system.
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Sid Miller explained that Durham shifted to building its own water treatment plant while coordinating the change with regional partners, remained on track to bring the plant online by the end of 2031, and outlined upcoming agreements and contracts needed for the intake, transmission improvements, a land sale, and temporary closure of a Jordan Lake recreation facility during construction.
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City Manager Ferguson explained that partner utilities in the Western Intake Partnership no longer expected to need finished Jordan Lake water soon, leading Durham to shift plans so partners would draw raw water instead, which reduced the likelihood of future cost reimbursements but did not change the already approved water rate structure that may now need to remain at higher levels longer than hoped.
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Water Management Director Don Greeley explained that upcoming PFAS regulations and high PFAS levels in Jordan Lake made Durham’s revised treatment approach financially advantageous, since blending high-quality effluent from the South Durham facility with raw lake water before treatment was expected to save hundreds of millions of dollars and offset the loss of long-term cost reimbursements from regional partners.
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Don Greeley and City Manager Ferguson explained that Durham had raised water rates years earlier to prepare for the Jordan Lake project while some partners did not, emphasized that partner utilities had paid their share to date, and framed the shift in their long‑term participation as a change in circumstances rather than a bait‑and‑switch on what remained the most efficient way for Durham to secure its future water supply.
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