Durham

Please see responses below…

[cid:image001.jpg@01D06C87.D7E15D00]

July 27, 2016
Durham Police Department
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to North Carolina Public Records Law (G.S. §§ 132-1 through 132-10), I hereby request the following documents:

I'm a reporter for The Guardian, based in New York. As part of a national project analyzing gun murders in cities across the country, we are requesting detailed data on your city’s 2015 murder statistics.

The breakdown of the city’s 2015 murders by murder weapon (at a minimum, the count of firearm murders vs others). Please clarify if this total count includes murders only or all homicides--in other words, if it includes or excludes justifiable homicides.

There were 37 homicides in the City of Durham for 2015, not including justifiable homicides. Of those, 27 involved a firearm.

The city’s 2015 firearm murder victims broken down by race and gender. (How many white men were murdered with guns? How many white women? How many black men? How many black women? Etc.)
2015 Homicide Victims

Race

Sex

Asian

Black

White

Grand Total

Female

4

3

7

Male

1

23

6

30

Grand Total

1

27

9

37

The city’s 2015 firearm murder victims broken down by age bracket, if this data is available. Age 0 in the table below reflects children under 1 year old.
2015 Homicide Victims

Age

0

3

17

18

19

20

21

22

24

25

26

29

30

32

34

37

38

40

48

52

53

54

57

58

63

66

Grand Total

Total

3

1

1

1

1

1

2

1

2

2

1

1

3

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

37

The number of the city’s 2015 firearm murders that were gang-related or gang-involved, if this data is available, along with a description of how your department defines or determines gang-related or gang-involved murders.

This data is not available.

The number of the city’s 2015 firearm murders that were related to domestic violence, if this data is available, along with a description of how your department defines domestic violence-related murders.

Chapter 50B.

Domestic Violence.

§ 50B-1. Domestic violence; definition.

(a) Domestic violence means the commission of one or more of the following acts upon an aggrieved party or upon a minor child residing with or in the custody of the aggrieved party by a person with whom the aggrieved party has or has had a personal relationship, but does not include acts of self-defense:

(1) Attempting to cause bodily injury, or intentionally causing bodily injury; or

(2) Placing the aggrieved party or a member of the aggrieved party's family or household in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or continued harassment, as defined in G.S. 14-277.3A, that rises to such a level as to inflict substantial emotional distress; or

(3) Committing any act defined in G.S. 14-27.21 through G.S. 14-27.33.

(b) For purposes of this section, the term "personal relationship" means a relationship wherein the parties involved:

(1) Are current or former spouses;

(2) Are persons of opposite sex who live together or have lived together;

(3) Are related as parents and children, including others acting in loco parentis to a minor child, or as grandparents and grandchildren. For purposes of this subdivision, an aggrieved party may not obtain an order of protection against a child or grandchild under the age of 16;

(4) Have a child in common;

(5) Are current or former household members;

(6) Are persons of the opposite sex who are in a dating relationship or have been in a dating relationship. For purposes of this subdivision, a dating relationship is one wherein the parties are romantically involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context is not a dating relationship.

(c) As used in this Chapter, the term "protective order" includes any order entered pursuant to this Chapter upon hearing by the court or consent of the parties. (1979, c. 561, s. 1; 1985, c. 113, s. 1; 1987, c. 828; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 893, ss. 1, 3; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 591, s. 1; 1997-471, s. 1; 2001-518, s. 3; 2003-107, s. 1; 2009-58, s. 5; 2015-181, s. 36.)

Domestic

Total

No

11

Unknown

16

Yes

10

Grand Total

37

The police department’s 2015 and YTD 2016 murder clearance rates.

The 2015 criminal homicide clearance rate was 64.86 percent. 2016 YTD through June is 76.19 percent.

We are requesting this information in a digital format, and happy to discuss how best to obtain these statistics based on your department’s available records and record-keeping system. You can reach me at 917-900-4539.

If some of these statistics are more readily available than others, please send them as they are available.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I would request your response within ten (10) business days.

Sincerely,

Jamiles Lartey

------
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock
DEPT MR 27260
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
------
[http://email.requests.muckrock.com/o/eJwNzEEOwiAQQNHTyHIyHWDoLNiYeA7TMtg2BojUary93fzVy9foPZstEg6MgcIgzhEDudEKWEGHcBUbbqPIxWHPryPv7x3KkZ69pSekVswaVdlPgpwtkWgWfAxnSThQ9jOTOVm5bxqJhSyZHvtU9Qdzb9-61eVc69HXqdQES_v8AdRzLAM]