ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Change was in the air in Elizabeth City on Thursday as police and city leaders held a news conference to announce 2025 crime statistics compared with 2024.
"I think that the shift is definitely happening, and I definitely see the shift continuing to go that way," said Ralph Cole, an Elizabeth City resident.
That's Cole's reaction to hearing that crime was down in Elizabeth City, according to statistics Police Chief Eddie Graham and Mayor Kirk Rivers shared with the media Thursday.
"I am proud to stand before you today to share a defining milestone for our community," said Graham.
The specific categories shared were murder, rape, robbery and car theft, all of which were down in 2025 compared with 2024.
CRIME | 2024 | 2025 |
MURDER | 3 | 2 |
RAPE | 5 | 2 |
ROBBERY | 9 | 6 |
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT | 52 | 22 |
"This downward trend is not a matter of chance. It is a direct result of target-driven policing, deep investment in community partners, and proactive intervention strategies," said Graham.
Elizabeth City police have also hired more than 20 officers since last summer. Graham says they've gone even further by increasing their presence in city neighborhoods.
"We also have put officers in neighborhoods talking to residents, building a better relationship, working together. " said Graham.
"When they have the opportunity to see a police officer, talk to a police officer, it builds that relationship. And that's one of the things that I'm very proud of about our police department, is the relationships that they're building with the community," said Kirk Rivers, mayor of Elizabeth City.
For Cole, those relationships, especially with young people, are crucial.
"To actually go and actually sit down with the actual community themselves, to hear it from the people themselves, it makes a huge impact," said Cole.
Graham also shared that the support of city leaders is another important part of the department's mission to make Elizabeth City safer.
"We're continuing to give the police department all that they need in order to make continued strides. And I will say this again: continued strides to make our city safe," said Rivers.
Even with these positives, Rivers and Graham made it clear that the mission is not finished.
"While these figures provide that our collaborative efforts are working and our neighborhoods are becoming safer, our mission is far from complete. Numbers reflect progress, but our true measure of success remains on the lived experiences and peace of mind of every resident. As we review these statistics, let us use this momentum not to rest, but to reinforce our commitment to driving these numbers down even further," said Graham.
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