People’s Safety & People’s Trust

In Durham, trust is eroding—and safety is being defined too narrowly.
Too many residents do not feel seen, heard, or cared for—including those who are building opportunities for others.

• Gun violence and street-level conflict continue to claim lives—while prevention programs and trusted messengers remain underfunded.

• EMS, Fire, and Police are significantly understaffed—stretching emergency response thin, delaying care, and too often arriving mismatched to the moment or the need.

• Business owners across Durham have raised real concerns about safety—for themselves, their employees, and their customers—only to feel dismissed, delayed, or ignored.

• We patrol where we do not invest. We monitor what we have not maintained. We ask people to trust systems that have failed to protect them, hear them, or even show up.

This is not just a crisis of public safety. It is a crisis of public faith—and the longer it goes unaddressed, the more harm it causes.

What kind of Durham are we building—if the people who carry its weight cannot live with peace-of-mind?

• A city where every person—no matter their ZIP code—can walk at night without fear and call for help without hesitation.

• A city where trust is not demanded, but earned—through transparency, presence, and truth-telling.

• A public safety system where mental health care, housing, crisis response, and prevention are fully funded—because safety starts with stability.

• A government that values its first responders and its communities—investing in care, not just control.

Safety should not be a privilege. It should be a promise—for everyone.

As Mayor, I will work with my colleagues and our community to:

• Strengthen recruitment and retention strategies for law enforcement, EMS, and fire—while equipping them to serve with excellence through clear standards, meaningful training, and budgets aligned with impact.

• Advance a comprehensive public health approach to safety—investing in prevention, care, and community-led strategies that reduce harm before it begins.

• Expand and strengthen non-police crisis response—including the HEART program—and invest in trusted violence interrupters, peacebuilders, and reentry partners who know the communities they serve.

• Establish a permanent structure where residents, first responders, and trusted community leaders come together to define safety priorities, co-design solutions, and track visible progress—ensuring the people most impacted help shape what safety looks like in Durham.

Two years may not be enough to finish the work—but it is enough to lay the foundation for safety rooted in care, shaped by trust, and built with the people.

Forward—Together, we will:

• Listen to the people most impacted by violence, underinvestment, and over-policing—including youth, elders, and community members whose safety concerns have long gone unheard.

• Reclaim idle time and lost spaces by investing in after-school programs, safe third spaces, and mentorship pathways—because too many young people are being left to navigate crises without structure or support.

• Strengthen neighborhood partnerships between residents, first responders, and care networks—so prevention is visible, relationships are real, and safety is rooted in care—not just punishment.

• Track and share public safety data transparently—ensuring Durham residents can see where progress is happening and where our systems must do better.

Safety is not something we wait for. It is something we build—together, block by block, choice by choice, and generation by generation.

You should not have to prove your worth to be protected—whether you are a returning citizen, a child, a neighbor surviving the system, or a small business owner trying to hold your ground.

• You should not fear the people paid to keep you safe.

• You should not have to beg for help—or brace yourself before asking for it.

• You should not be punished for surviving what this city failed to prevent.

• You should not have to wonder if your life only matters after it becomes a headline.

In a better Durham, safety is not controlled from the top. It is claimed by the people, for the people—and built to last.