CMPD defends deploying about 100 officers to RNC during crime spike in Charlotte

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police leaders on Monday defended deploying about 100 officers to Wisconsin during a time when homicides are spiking in Charlotte, saying they shifted detectives and school resource officers onto patrols to maintain staffing in Charlotte.

CMPD sent the officers to Milwaukee in mid-July, joining police departments from other cities like Greensboro and Concord in helping secure the four-day Republican National Convention.

But the deployment came at a time when homicides have risen 36% in Charlotte, all while homicides in most U.S. cities are declining.

“We are leaders nationwide in that space when it comes to crowd management and crowd control,” Deputy Police Chief David Robinson said Monday at a press conference where CMPD provided data on spikes this year in homicides, assaults with firearms and juvenile crimes.

An uptick in homicides and gun violence

There were 61 homicides in Charlotte in the first six months of 2024 compared to the 45 in the first half of 2023. More people have been killed in the first six months of 2024 than any other starting six-month stretch since at least 2015.

“These examples and the numbers go far beyond policing. The increase in gun violence and homicides point to a larger societal problem,” Robinson said. “It’s going to take much more than the police. It’s going to take investing in communities and investing in prevention and alternatives to violence, particularly among young people.”

The number of assaults involving a firearm also increased by 8% compared to the first half of 2023. There were 2,193 in the first six months of 2024, compared to 2,034 last year, according to CMPD.

Data from the Center for American Progress showed that Charlotte was one of few major cities that is seeing a rise in gun violence in 2024 compared to 2023. The only city that saw more of an increase than Charlotte was Memphis , which had a 7.4 percent increase.

The study calculated data from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit in Washington, and determined the gun violence victimization rates in the most populous cities.

In Charlotte, the number of ghost guns available coupled with the number of teenagers and children becoming involved in crime only adds to the uniquely rising gun violence rate, said Nick Wilson, the Center for American Progress’ senior director of gun violence prevention.

Police say teens are a problem

Juvenile crimes have been at their highest level in Charlotte in at least the past five years, CMPD told reporters Monday afternoon.

The area has become a focus for CMPD as well as Police Chief Johnny Jennings, who has previously advocated for the opening of a juvenile detention facility . Mecklenburg County closed the city’s only juvenile detention center, once known as Jail North, in 2022 due to a staffing shortage.

Once an underage person commits a crime, they are often released to their family and then go out and commit another crime, Robinson said.

“A lack of space to house juveniles should not be an excuse for allowing repeat juvenile offenders to rack up dozens or even hundreds of charges by the time they’re 17 years of age,” Robinson said. “This practice fails the community and most of all the juveniles that we’re sworn to protect.”

Juvenile crimes have increased by 12% in the first six months of 2024 compared to the first six months of 2023, Maj. Bret Balamucki told reporters Monday.

Balamucki cited an example of two teenagers escaping officers’ custody in April. A video that police posted to X during Monday’s news conference shows the two in a stolen vehicle, where they were “smoking a substance” and “bouncing around” firearms, Balamucki told reporters.

Balamucki said that instances like these continue to put officers at risk, and the department wants to work towards finding solutions for teenagers who are not “changing their way.”

“Do you think if I’m afraid of prosecution, I’m making a video where I’m dancing around to music pointing handguns around in a stolen vehicle while I’ve got shackles that I just escaped with?” Balamucki said.

Robinson said police are “not looking to arrest kids, we’re looking to change outcomes.

“If you want to be part of the solution, we’ve got a problem going on in this community, and it’s high time people stepped up.”

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the number of homicides in Charlotte in the first six months of 2024. The story has been updated.