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UNION CO., N.C. – If you ask Union County residents for their opinion on crime, many respond with comments like “could not feel more safe”, “we feel very safe here”, and “definitely seems safer than Mecklenburg County.” The appeal of lower crime rates is one of the reasons people are drawn here. The population has grown from 201,292 in 2010 to 208,520 in 2012, according to the US Census Bureau. That’s an increase of more than three and a half percent.
But what about the Crown Town Effect? Does Charlotte spill over spell trouble for Union County? In a word, no. And who gets credit? “A lot of it’s got to do with your population. How interested they are in keeping their neighborhoods safe,” says Union Co. Sheriff Eddie Cathey.
Cathey provided WCCB with a year-to-year crime comparison. From 2012 to 2013, murder, rape, robbery, aggravated and simple assaults, breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft, drug crimes, and fraud were down. Larceny was neutral. “Other crimes” Cathey classifies as “minor misdemeanors” increased by 9 percent.
In Char-Meck, CMPD says overall crime was down in 2013, but murders were up 11.5 percent, and rapes were up 6.4 percent. Cathey says, “We want nothing to do with the crime rates, crime stats, and types of crimes they have there.”
The Crown Town Effect on the UC isn’t all bad, says the Monroe Police Department’s interim Chief Bryan Gilliard. He points to the Democratic National Convention and says the relationships established during the DNC made the local law enforcement community stronger. Gilliard says, “That’s a Crown (Town) Effect, if you will, because Charlotte was able to secure that, but it also helped us years later by the relationships we made with these other agencies from around.”
Gilliard, who granted WCCB a rare on-camera interview, says one of the things that keeps crime rates down in the UC is community involvement, a priority for his department. “When we’re actually going through the background process and trying to hire officers, (we ask) are you gonna live in Union County? And be involved in everything Monroe Police Department has going on? It’s not just your shift.” Gilliard goes on to say, “Our children are gonna play with your children. (Union County) is a safe place to live, to work, a good place to raise your family.”
Gilliard says while overall crime is also down in Monroe–as it is across the county–traffic accidents are up. He does blame that increase on the Crown Town Effect.
