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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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.