Tuesday's assault of a jogger brought to 24 the number of criminal instances on the American Tobacco Trail since Jan. 1, 2011. Six have occurred since May 17, two robberies and four simple assaults. (See http://bit.ly/SSHhA9.)

Police have made arrests in one of the robberies and two of the assaults, and ask anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.

"There are people who know who did this," Police Chief Jose L. Lopez said at a Wednesday press conference.

Here are the Durham Police Department's lists of incidents on the ATT, one from Jan. 1, 2011 and the other from Jan. 1, 2012.

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"Don't Shoot: One Man, a Street Fellowship and the End Of Violence In Inner-City America" is a must read (well, maybe a you-really-ought-to-read) around City Hall and Police HQ these days.

"It's something that caught my attention," said City Manager Tom Bonfield. After he read it, Bonfield bought copies for City Council members. Bonfield said Police Chief Jose L. Lopez has also bought copies for his command staff.

"There's a lot of people looking at it," Bonfield said.

The first half of 2011 saw Durham's violent crime up 2 percent over the same period a year earlier, with 17 homicides and 486 assaults accounting for the increase.

Those numbers were up from 14 homicides and 438 assaults in the first six months of 2010. In January-June 2009 there were also 14 homicides, but only 391 assaults.

Police Chief Jose L. Lopez presented the figures to the City Council tonight in his quarterly crime report.

Rapes and robberies were down from 2010 levels, though, from 38 to 35 and 339 to 307 respectively. Robbery, Lopez said, reached a three-year low while decreases in property crimes from 2010 to 2011 brought the overall second-quartr crime rate down 4 percent: from 6,464 to 6,195.

See link below for the complete report.

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Police Chief Jose L. Lopez reported that the city’s crime rate reached a 10-year low when he spoke before the city council this week. At one point he referred to Durham as the greatest city in the world, eliciting a response from Councilman Howard Clement:

“You just earned a five-year extension on your contract,” Clement said.

“Does that come with a pay raise?” Lopez asked.

Clement replied, “I didn’t say that.”

Overall crime in Durham was down 2 percent in 2010 from its 2009 rate, and down 31 percent from nine years ago, Police Chief Jose L. Lopez reported Monday night.

Giving his annual report to the city council (link below), Lopez said the 2010 crime rate was 5,719 per 100,000 residents, whereas the 2001 rate was 8,332 per 100,000 people.

Lopez also reported "additional good news" on the department's three-year "Bull's Eye" project in a high-crime section of East Durham. There, he said, violent crime involving firearms was down 57 percent from 2007 through 2010, and police calls regarding drug activity was down 38 percent.

Bull's Eye targeted a two-square mile area that had accounted for more than 20 percent of drug and prostitution arrests although it comprised just 2 percent of the city area.

Violent crime was up 2 percent in 2010 over the previous year, led by an increase in homicides from 21 to 25. Aggravated assault was up from 801 to 877 incidents, while the number of reported rapes was unchanged, 67 in each year, and robberies down from 716 to 666.

That increase was offset by a 2 percent drop in burglary, larceny and vehicle theft, from 11,711 incidents to 11,452. Combined violent and property crimes fell from 13,316 in 2009 to 13,087 last year.

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Police Chief Jose L. Lopez reported Monday that Durham had 24 homicides through the first nine months of 2010, a 41 percent increase over the same period a year earlier and above the three-year average of 19.

Overall, violent crime was up 7 percent while property crime was slightly down, from 8,664 incidents to 8,644. Total crime rate for January through September was up 1 percent.

The latest figures reflect "the same trends as we have seen in the second quarter," Lopez said, making his quarterly crime report to the City Council.

"We continue to have breakins and thefts involving metals and appliances," he said. In one case in which arrests were made, thieves were using a tow truck to steal automobiles they sold for scrap metal.

During the third quarter, Lopez reported, officers made five arrests on murder charges related to the killing of Bernardo Ponce on Sept. 4; and Michael Dorman of Mebane was indicted in the 2008 murder of Durham resident Lakeia Boxley.

Lopez's quarterly report also made mention of a medal of honor presented retired Officer Bill Boone for valor in a 1992 shootout with a shooting suspect who had threatened harm to law enforcement officers.

According to Lopez's report, "We recently became aware of his actions ... and wanted to ensure he was properly recognized."

Durham's rate of violent crime continued its decline through 2009's third quarter, Police Chief Jose L. Lopez told the City Council Monday night.

Through Sept. 30, the city had had 18 homicides, four fewer than at the same point in 2008. Overall, cases of violent crime -- homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery, were down 13 percent from the previous year and down 6 percent from 2007.

Durham had 24 homicides in 2008, one less than the year before, and a 19 percent decline in the number of rapes reported, from 88 to 71.

However, a January spike in robberies pushed the city's overall total of violent crimes to 1,810, a 4 percent rise from 2007.

Figures are from the Durham Police Department's 2008 Crime Report, which Chief Jose L. Lopez (right) presents at tonight's City Council meeting.

Burglary and vehicle-theft totals were also down, but a 5 percent increase in larcenies left Durham's overall property-crime rate up 1 percent for the year.

According to Lopez's report, thefts of industrial metals, particularly copper, accounted for much of the increase, but with scrap-metal dealers cooperation, those thefts began decreasing in the year's last months.

The full report and executive summary are online at www.durhamnc.gov/agendas/2009/cm20090302/AttachmentsList.cfm#5938.

Violent crime in Durham continued an upward trend in August, prompting several city council members to vent some frustration Thursday.

"The trend doesn't look good," said Mayor Bill Bell.

Overall, crime in Durham was down 3 percent in the first six months of 2008, compared with the same period last year. Violent crime, however, showed a 9 percent increase, due largely to a wave of robberies in January.

Those figures were part of a quarterly report that Chief of Police Jose L. Lopez delivered to the city council Monday night.

Lopez cautioned, though, that his monthly numbers were preliminary and might be adjusted after quarterly review.