After rowdy St. Paddy's weekend, Raleigh records show increased crime in Glenwood South
An unruly St. Patrick's Day weekend around one of Raleigh's most vibrant nightlife scenes is bringing a rise in crime into focus.
In the last three years, the Glenwood South neighborhood has seen an uptick in reported crimes, a concerning trend for the growing number of people who live near one of the city's most active spots for bars and restaurants.
WRAL News has uncovered 299 reported crimes between Jan. 1 and March 9. That’s up 36% from the same time period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between Thursday, March 17, and Monday, March 21, there were more than 40 complaints and crimes reported in the area, including six assaults, two fights and six car crashes.
WRAL News obtained cell phone video of a car crash and someone falling from a roof in the same area, further illustrating the trend. There were also calls for crowd control, drug investigations, a foot chase and multiple noise complaints.
On Saturday, the Raleigh Police Department responded to a shooting outside of Carolina Ale House around 2:30 a.m. A man went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
While neighbors have always dealt with nuisance issues such as drivers revving their engines and crowd noise deep into the night, they're shocked to hear about police recovering weapons and responding to assault calls.
From Jan. 1 to March 9, police records show 299 reported crimes in Glenwood South neighborhood — including nearly 100 weapons/drug violations and 56 assaults. There were 53 drug violations, three robberies, four stolen cars and 16 thefts from cars. For the same stretch in 2019, there were 220 crimes reported. Of those 220 crimes, there were only eight weapons violations.
“It’s changing," said Matt Ruggiero, who's lived in Glenwood South for three years. "It’s getting to the point of you know what you are signing up for if you move here now but there’s definitely people who lived here before and did not sign up for that.”
Nevertheless, Ruggerio believes the area is generally safe, as he walks home at night regularly and feels comfortable doing so.
“I feel like in Raleigh — more than just about any city I have been in — walking home at night I feel completely safe.”
The area is densely populated with clubs, pubs and eateries and has become increasingly popular in recent years with more people moving to Raleigh, particularly downtown. After many businesses were closed or offered limited service in 2020 and 2021, many feel there's a perception that people are looking to get out and enjoy themselves.
“People are just getting out of COVID, they have COVID fever," said Trevor Hooks. "They are trying to get out and do things.”
“A lot of the businesses are doing a really good job and working hard to try to keep it under control and know that this is a neighborhood, as well. It’s not just a party scene,” said Brittany Bryan, who's lived in the area for 10 years. Bryan added that scattered trash is often a problem on weekend mornings.
Other concerns include pedestrian safety along small sidewalks, where groups of people will sometimes spill onto the road. Bryan said she'd like to see the city shut down Glenwood South to traffic — to minimize the noise and keep pedestrians safe in an area that's residential as well as an entertainment district.
In July, the city hired its first-ever Nightlife Planner. Part of that person’s job is to work side-by-side with Raleigh police on weekend nights. The goal is to establish relationships with businesses and to be able to quickly identify problems that neighbors are dealing with.
