After Durham's 26th homicide of 2011, Mayor Bill Bell told Police Chief Jose L. Lopez he wanted a "different approach" to preventing violent crime.After Durham's 26th homicide of 2011, Mayor Bill Bell told Police Chief Jose L. Lopez he wanted a "different approach" to preventing violent crime.
In January, Bell laid out the first four "new strategies" for curbing homicide and violent crime in general. They include higher bonds for suspects in violent crimes, better communication among law-enforcement and criminal-justice agencies and renewed outreach to engage citizens in crime prevention. (See link below to Belllaysoutcrimestrategy).
At the same time, the Durham Crime Cabinet adopted two sets of revisions to North Carolina's code regarding firearms-involved offenses. The revisions are being circulated to several governmental and law-enforcement organizations before being presented to Durham County's legislative delegation. (See links below to the draft revisions.)
