Durham community centers discussions on decreasing crime, providing equitable learning environments

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The people of Durham are diving into tough topics and are looking at solutions to provide equitable learning environments and decrease crime across the city.

Many believe that in the long run investment in the youth will yield positive outcomes for the entire region.

As a former educator and father of two, Kelvin Bullock attended an important conversation among educators and parents about the discipline disparities impacting students of color.

"How do we prioritize the students that are getting the most troubling outcomes in our schools, whether it's our black boys, our black girls, our Latin students, our students with disabilities.... like we need to do something better to yield better outcomes for them. And as we do that, all children benefit," he said.

In March of 2023, North Carolina Public Schools suspended black students at higher rates than their peers, according to the Durham nonprofit Empowered Parents in Community (EPIC).

Many in the room were advocating for more restorative practices and believe if the issue isn't addressed, there could be long-term effects.

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"If you think about having the students right, they will become adults and become professionals. Think about that. Imagine having these students that had all this potential and then it has been snuffed out. Society will have a loss over decades, years. It's going to ripple into time endlessly because we didn't have that right," said Mavreen Nanton-Scott, EPIC.

The Durham Police Department and city leaders are trying to get it right. The latest crime report from the police department's third quarter paints a picture of improvement across the city.

"Definitely changing the narrative to be more aligned with the reality... Every bad actor, every person who commits a crime was a kid at one point. So a lot of my focus is making sure that we're doing early childhood investment, early childhood focus, early childhood growth and development," said Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams. "And so we want to make sure that we are reducing the amount of kids that are getting off track as they're becoming adults.

Violent crime overall is down almost a half percent, and homicide cases are down 17 percent. However, there is still work to be done regarding rape and aggravated assault.

"I hope that people see that while we embrace our challenges and overcome them not be defined by them, we should also make sure that folks see that our progress is present as well," said Mayor Williams.

The city will dive into the numbers during a meeting on Thursday.