[SoDu Crime Watch] Shoplifting and Fraud Reports on the Rise

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The latest batch of public police reports included more shoplifting, fraud, and vandalism than the week before, while vehicle-related theft remained the largest category.

Southpoint Access identified 108 reports in its South Durham coverage area from Aug. 14-20, 25 more than the 83 reports counted a week earlier. Those reports were tied to 90 address blocks.

That doesn't mean crime overall rose by the same amount. The Police-to-Citizen portal offers a snapshot of selected public reports, not a complete measure of crime, and reports can be added or reclassified later.

How This Report Was Compiled

Southpoint Access reviewed 160 public incident reports dated Aug. 14-20 in the Durham Police Department's Police-to-Citizen portal. We selected reports in a broad South Durham coverage area that includes ZIP codes 27713, 27707, and 27703, along with nearby portions of 27517, 27560, and southern 27701.

We excluded two lost-property reports, reports outside the coverage area, and one report whose address couldn't be reliably placed. That left 108 reports at 90 address blocks.

No case number appeared more than once. Two shoplifting reports in the 6900 block of Fayetteville Road shared the same recorded date and time but had different case numbers, so both remain in the count.

The Aug. 20 count may still grow. The export contained six reports citywide for that date, including four in the South Durham subset, and the latest was recorded at 3:47 p.m. The city's Police-to-Citizen overview notes that reports may take several days to appear.

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