ABC11 launches interactive Neighborhood Crime and Safety Tracker, here's how to check your area

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Neighborhood Safety Tracker gives viewers the chance to explore what crimes are on the rise in their specific community.

Trends on violent and property crimes are searchable in the Raleigh, Durham and Cary communities by police district.

The tracker developed by the ABC Data Team shows crime in Raleigh has increased over the past 12 months compared to previous years.

The rate of homicides in particular has jumped by 46% with half of the homicides connected with the Southeast portion of the city.

Diana Curtis has lived in the North and Northeastern section of Raleigh for 14 years, but recently said she's been hearing an uptick in crime nearby.

"I keep my doors locked. I keep the car locked. I have safety factors on my doors," Curtis said. She said she hears what she believes in gunfire in the surrounding neighborhoods.

"That's why we don't go out at night," she said.

The Neighborhood Crime and Safety Tracker shows aggravated assaults in the northeast district of Raleigh reveals 176 more assaults were committed per population the past year than the average over the last three years; the largest increase of any district.

"If I could move, I'd be out of here in a minute," Curtis said. She also said her neighborhood has lots of issues with package thefts.

The northeast region saw the largest uptick in assaults and robberies while the southeast region experienced the biggest jump in homicides and thefts over the past year.

In downtown Raleigh, homicides are trending down along with robberies.

Gerald Givens, the president of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP chapter, said this data is something his group and other city leaders track.

"What the data is showing us is coming out of COVID-19 the behaviors in our community is changing," Givens said. "You see some people who may be dealing with socio-economic issues, where those jobs that they once had, they didn't come back, you some of the kids who miss school for all that time, and it's changed some of their behavior."

He is working alongside city leaders, WakeMed and other community organizations to launch a Community Violence Intervention Program.

Over the next few months, the city plan to officially kickstart the program. Givens said data that targets trends in specific communities are vital.

"We have to take a targeted approach to this because we're going to have to look at those who are being treated for gunshot wounds and where those things are taking place at and then we'll have to look at the cognitive behavior therapy programs that we're going to need to send directly to those communities that are most at risk," he said.

The crime tracker does show some signs of optimism as citywide; robberies and burglaries are down. It is a direction that Givens is confident other violent crimes will follow after the city's violence intervention program kicks off.

"I'm very optimistic about what we're going to do ahead because we've been able to see models across the country that have reduced gun violence by 30%," he said. "We're talking to those community violence intervention officers across the country. We're also talking to the hospital violence intervention programs across the country, and we're learning the good, we're learning the bad. So as we stand up our organization and our efforts, we won't make those same mistakes."

Givens encourages any community members who want to volunteer or help be a part of making a difference to reach out to the Raleigh- Apex NAACP.

You can search the crime trends in your community by typing in your address or ZIP Code here.