Is Charlotte becoming unsafe? We asked the top 3 local law enforcement officers

• Many people say they don't feel as safe walking through Uptown. In some neighborhoods, they fear bullets will fire into their children's bedrooms. On the east side, an assailant recently attacked a man with a brick, WCNC reported.
• "There's a perception in Charlotte that crime is out of control," says city council member Malcolm Graham.

By the numbers: Violent crime was up 3% in 2024, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department victimization-based data.

• There were 111 homicides in 2024 compared to 89 in 2023 — a 25% spike.

Between the lines: Many homicides involve people who know each other. Of the 111 homicides, 28 originated from arguments, and 42 involved "non-strangers," per CMPD. The circumstances of most cases are unknown.

What they're saying: CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings says he can only fight perception with data. But these numbers are being compared to recent years when violent crime was declining, he adds.

• "It's difficult to maintain that, particularly as our population is growing as quickly as it is," Jennings says.
• Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden started working in the area as a CMPD officer in the '80s. He remembers when Charlotte's population was half what it is today and homicides were higher. In 1993, Charlotte's most violent year ever, there were 122 murders reported.
• "What happened is that media, social media, iPhones, technology and all have made us see more crime," says McFadden, a former homicide detective.

Still, law enforcement officers and community leaders are quick to say that one homicide is too many, and it won't take police alone to stop it.

We asked Chief Jennings what change would be the most meaningful to prevent another rise in homicides in 2025. His answer: More state funding to staff the district attorney's office with prosecutors.

• He points to Baltimore City, which has garnered national attention for reducing homicides by 40% since 2022. Many have credited its district attorney office's efforts to prosecute repeat violent offenders, among other initiatives.
• Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office has 85 prosecutors — a low number compared to counties its size — including seven unfilled positions. DA Spencer Merriweather says the low capped pay for about 22 locally funded positions makes them hard to fill.
• "Our district attorney's office desperately needs more resources," Jennings says. "I think it was in one week, we had over 120 arrests, and just to see how all of this accumulates over to the district attorney's office — I don't know how they're able to keep up."

They aren't keeping up. More than 300 homicide cases are pending in Mecklenburg County. Merriweather says many suspects charged with murder are out on bond, though he didn't share an exact number.

• "It certainly happens more here than it happens a lot of other places," Merriweather says.

The other solution Jennings, Merriweather and McFadden seem to agree on is a need for resources, particularly for the youth. Juvenile crime skyrocketed in recent years — attributable to COVID, social media and access to guns.

• In 2024, CMPD saw a slight decline in juvenile crime, though. They credit it to officers visiting over 200 homes of at-risk youth and other proactive programs that keep kids busy in the summer.
• Sheriff McFadden says he sees rising crime as a reflection of poor upward mobility. He says a few days after Christmas, his office enforced 193 evictions in one day.

• DA Merriweather says the community's youth need more mentorship to help them see the future.
• Chief Jennings says the community needs to take a "holistic approach" — and can't look solely at police to solve the crisis.

The big picture: As Charlotte matures into a bigger city, its politicians are often torn between whether to be "hard" on crime or empathetic to populations dealing with mental health challenges and substance abuse.

• Last year Charlotte City Council took a controversial vote to restore criminal penalties for public masturbation, urination and defecation, and open containers, among other offenses. Opponents suggested they were criminalizing homelessness.
• Others accuse local leaders and police of being too "soft on crime."
• "We are trying to figure out the best way to approach the epidemic of crime," McFadden says.

What's next: CMPD expects to see an effect in 2025 from its initiatives and some state legislative reforms.

• Late last year, CMPD increased officer presence in areas with high victimization rates, such as Steele Creek, Tom Hunter-North Tryon and Beatties Ford-LaSalle. The department credits the initiative with reducing violent crime by 4% in the fourth quarter. It expects the decline to continue.
• In December, state lawmakers amended Raise the Age to empower law enforcement agencies to charge 16 and 17-year-olds as adults for serious felonies. CMPD says this has already helped get one teen — a repeat offender and person of interest in a homicide — off the streets.

Other statistics from CMPD's end-of-year report:

• Violent crimes: 7,413 offenses in 2024 compared to 7,215 offenses in 2023.
• Homicides: 111 in 2024 compared to 89 in 2023.
• Aggravated assaults: 5,679 in 2024 compared to 5,542 in 2023.
• Rapes: 232 in 2024 compared to 256 in 2023.
• Armed robberies: 868 in 2024 compared to 890 in 2023.
• Property crimes: 36,996 offenses in 2024 compared to 38,507 in 2023.
• Residential burglaries: 1,731 in 2024 compared to 1,989 in 2023.
• Commercial burglaries: 2,463 in 2024 compared to 2,335 in 2023.
• Larcenies from automobiles: 10,271 in 2024 compared to 11,390 in 2023.
• Vehicle thefts: 7,445 in 2024 compared to 8,054 in 2023.
• Arsons: 162 in 2024 compared to 143 in 2023.