CMPD Chief Says There is One Solution for Rising Crime Numbers

CHARLOTTE, NC — Crime is on the rise in Charlotte, especially violent crime. CMPD released its 1st Quarter crime statistics Thursday, and crime is up in almost every category.

I sat down one-on-one with CMPD Chief Kerr Putney to talk about why those crime numbers are continuing to rise, and what the city needs to do to stop the bleeding.

“The people who are committing the crimes repeatedly, and violent crime in particular, have been escalating for quite a while,” says Putney.

Putney is frustrated. Crime numbers continue to rise, while CMPD is dealing with several challenges, including a core group of repeat offenders committing a majority of the most violent crime.

Changes to the justice system in 2011 make it harder for Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray to put repeat offenders away for long stretches.

“We all know that there’s a small percentage that commit a lot of crimes,” says Murray. “And so we’re taking somebody that’s a habitual offender off the street for six year, eight years, that’s somebody who’s not committing crime after crime, after crime.”

“If they’re back on the street, they might commit other offenses before you get that first conviction,” says Chief Putney. “So it is a process, and it takes time.”

There is also an increase in violent crime from younger offenders.

CMPD lost the funding for the Gang of One initiative in 2013. That program helped fight gang-related crime in Charlotte. Now the department is using the Cops and Barbers outreach to try and get to kids before they go down the wrong path.

“We took off the top tier, and now we’re having to go in and do maintenance work in some of our neighborhoods,” says Putney. “Because some of the second tier, the younger kids, are starting to step up into leadership positions.”

But the best way to combat the rising crime numbers is to add more officers. Putney asked city council for 125. That number has been knocked down to 50 due to budget restrictions, and it may take property tax increase for that.

“We know there’s a correlation with adding additional officers and reducing your crime rate,” says Putney.

“I’m hoping it doesn’t involve a tax increase,” says Charlotte City Council member Julie Eiselt. “But if it does I’m hoping the community will say well, what’s the most important thing here? And it’s to keep people safe.”

There is a public hearing for the Charlotte city budget next Monday at 5:30 in the Government Center in Uptown.