Durham is, by no means, the safest city in America. However, as long as a visitor is prudent and takes normal precautions, they are unlikely to be in any danger.
That said, here are some crime statistics, and advice on areas to avoid:
Crime: The number of violent crimes recorded by the FBI in 2003 was 1,663. The number of murders and homicides was 22. The violent crime rate was 8.4 per 1,000 people. The Durham police department has a wonderful tool allowing users to map out where crime has occurred - the Durham crime mapper.
Below is a map of where all gun related crimes have occurred in 2006:
Most of the gun related crimes are concentrated around the downtown area, as well as the area just to the east. Fortunately, there aren't many tourist destinations nearby, with the exception of the Durham Bulls stadium.
More Durham crime data is here. Included in this site is a formula for "crime index". According to city-data, the national average is a number that calculates out to 329.9. Durham, over the 4 year streatch of 2000-2003, came in at: 666,633,608, and 613. Unfortunately for Durham, the higher number means more crime.
