Crime in Charlotte is down, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Wednesday. But notice no one seems too eager to specify beyond that. Down compared to what? Compared to where?
According to the Charlotte Observer, local law enforcement made a dent in all categories of crime except murder and theft from motor vehicles this year.
But numbers can be deceiving. Charlotte's violent crime rate may be down, but our violent crime rate is still high. In 2006 in Charlotte, there were 1,092 incidents of violent crime per 100,000 people. The violent crime rate in Los Angeles was 788 incidents per 100,000 people. In New York, it was 638.3.
Then there are property crimes like burglary. It's down 6.8 percent, the police say. That sounds like great news until you consider that according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, in 2006 our burglary rate was more than double Raleigh's. More than double.
Raleigh's burglary rate was 875 burglaries per 100,000 people. Charlotte-Mecklenburg's rate was 1,968 per 100,000 people. To put that in perspective, Los Angeles had a burglary rate of 527.
Across most crimes, particularly property crimes, Charlotte-Mecklenburg's crime rates rank us above, alongside or approaching those of some of the most crime-plagued cities in the nation.
Auto theft here is down 20.3 percent, the police reported. That's good news, but again, down compared to where? At 1,036 auto thefts per 100,000 people, Charlotte's rate was more than three times Raleigh's rate of 295 according to the 2006 UCR. Here's how Charlotte stacked up to other cities with high-crime reputations:
| |
Population |
Car Thefts |
Rate Per 100,000 population |
| Char-Meck |
699,398 |
7,150 |
1036 |
| Raleigh |
348,345 |
1,006 |
295 |
| New York |
8,165,001 |
15,936 |
195 |
| Los Angeles |
3,879,455 |
25,389 |
656 |
| Atlanta |
485,408 |
5,878 |
1224 |
| Miami |
392,934 |
3,879 |
994 |
| Chicago |
2,857,796 |
21,828 |
764 |
| Philadelphia |
1,464,576 |
11,657 |
798.4 |
| Washington, DC |
581,530 |
7,057 |
1216 |
| Nashville |
560,813 |
3,021 |
539 |
Property crime in particular is a problem here.
|
Population |
Prop. Crimes |
Rate Per 100,000 population |
| Char-Meck |
699,398 |
48,886 |
7084 |
| Raleigh |
348,345 |
12,650 |
3270 |
| New York |
8,165,001 |
153,436 |
1880 |
| Los Angeles |
3,879,455 |
105,459 |
2725 |
| Atlanta |
485,408 |
32,231 |
6714 |
| Miami |
392,934 |
20,288 |
5202 |
| Chicago |
2,857,796 |
129,718 |
4551 |
| Philadelphia |
1,464,576 |
62,612 |
4288 |
| Washington, DC |
581,530 |
26,004 |
4483 |
| Nashville |
560,813 |
32,625 |
5825 |
Great work Tara! Thanks for breaking it down without the sugar coating...
Reply to this
It's no wonder that property crime is so high. The police just tell you to call your insurance company. They don't even look for stolen goods. Too busy being PC to do real police work.
Reply to this
Tara,
Keep up the great work! It's neat you're almost always first with the news. Everyone else follows . . . You in my opinion are the best journalist, columnist and radio host in this city (perhaps in this state).
Regards,
Griff Towery
Reply to this
Please inform us on what percentage of Charlotte crime was commited by black males.
Reply to this
TARA....... i beg of you........ please run for public office and say EVERYTHING that all the other politicians are too afraid to say............. even if you don't win.... you'd give a segment of the population a voice that needs to be heard........
Reply to this
Thanks for the research. I have lived in other cities and never were people being robbed as much as they are here.
Keep in mind we also have a high illegal immigrant population who don't report crimes as often.
Reply to this
good to see Tara active on this site...her participation and other acknowledgements I am hearing from personalities in town are adding even more credence to this site. This forum is fast becoming one of the most impactive elements of crime fighting in Charlotte. The knowledge it shares, the faces of crime it shows and the .45 I carry are significant in helping to keep me and my family safer on those days when I have to drive up from Rock Hill to Gotham city.
Reply to this
Blog Editor replies: Glad you brought this up, crusader. The violent crime rate in Charlotte in 2006 was 1,092 incidents per 100,000 people. The violent crime rate in Los Angeles was 788 incidents per 100,000 people. So yes, Charlotte is more dangerous than LA. I think I'll add that to the original blog post. Cheers!
Really? You claim Charlotte is more "dangerous" than Los Angeles, and then you use auto theft and property crime statistics to back up this ridiculous assertion? No wonder people out in the one-light towns are afraid of Charlotte, when the local media resorts to such sensationalistic nonsense on the slow news days when no terrible, scary "gang" committed the atrocity of spraying paint on a building. Have you ever bothered to visit a large city? And by visit, I mean exploring beyond your posh hotel and the five star restaurant across the street. This is utterly preposterous, and nothing more than an excuse for the local bigots and racists who live in fear to feel justified in their prejudices. What's the biggest danger in Charlotte? Getting hit by a golf ball or cut off by some yuppie banker in the SUVs they have no business driving. Numbers can be deceiving, indeed...
Reply to this
Let me see, bigots and racist, sir/mam I hope that you put your name at the top of the list. It is a fact, that by far and large, young black males are the overwhelming perpetrators of crime in this city followed by hispanics in a distant second and if the truth be known a large percentage of these criminals are members of gangs. No Racism except on your part, the others just read the reports. The gang member influnce is spreading to neighboring counties, and overwhelmingly the young black males lead once again in these numbers. Not all blacks participate, however, a much higher percentage of blacks are involved in this activity. And yes I have first hand experience with the gang activity in this area, 25 to 30 gang members(Bloods) ganged up on my 2 sons at a high school basketball game,authorities did nothing, not the school system, not the police, swept it right under the carpet. Even with eyewitnesses that we had, by the way were not interviewed for 2 weeks. Wake up, the public is no longer buying the liberal black victim crap anymore, they are perpetrators not victims, look at the statistics. Life is full of choices;good and bad. Their choices have effects, good ones and bad ones, each person has a choice, no one makes these criminals go out and rob and beat up on people. Infact with all the entitlement programs that the underprivaledged have today,and there is one heck of a safety net that the good tax paying, law abiding citizens have provided for the minority groups in this country to ensure that they get a decent start in life(welfare), they don't starve to death(food stamps),whether they work or not,don't die for lack of healthcare(health clinics and Emergency Rooms), have decent housing or at least a roof over their head, Section 8 housing vouchers..coming to a neighborhood near you..because the goverment thinks that the rest of America can role model for the underprivaleged...if they see regular Americans go to work and come home and pay taxes, they will want to also. Right? There is milk for their children (WICKS program) and hot breakfasts and lunches for their children,free and daycare for their children after school. Now I ask you why we cannot expect the underprivaledged blacks,whites,and hispanics to make the right choices, quit robbing, killing, doing drugs and stop victimizing society. They have not chosen to rise above the poverty and work through it. I did, and many others did, in this blame everyone else nanny welfare state that the liberals have imposed on Americans without consent or opinion. Enough is enough, you are the biggot and you make me sick to my stomach. Address the real problem...people like you, Captain Obvious, ones who scream racism and bigotry, while masking the obvious, you are a liberal and either an apologist trying to rid your white guilt, or a card carrying member of the NAACP the worlds most prejudiced self centered oranization in the world. You,sir/mam just perpetuate the problem.
Reply to this
Right on the money Jon! I have said for years Charlotte is not like the media portrays it. I am old enough to remember when the mill towns in Gaston County were the "murder capitals of the US"
Reply to this
Jon must work for our fearless leader Chief Stephens.
Reply to this
The uniform crime reports are a joke. The writer of this report needs to be educated before being allowed to report such nonsense.
Love the run for office comment! LMAO!
Reply to this
Great post! Get ready to take even MORE heat from the Charlotte establishment. It will be harder to sell those posh, million dollar high rise condos if the bankers\lawyers\developers know what's lurking on the streets between their doorman and their box seats at our taxpayer funded arena.
G
Reply to this
Thank you Tara!
I have been doing some research myself on a subject that may parlay into this one. My son is a soon to be former US Marine, thinking about becoming a policeman. While he was still in Iraq I did some research for him and found that Charlotte was one of the lowest pay for officers in the nation. That coupled with being one of the most dangerous cities in the nation is just ludicrous. As much as I would love to see my son move to Charlotte, he can go to San Francisco, where my father and great grandfather were both policeman, and receive a starting salary of 67,000 plus. Or he could stay in Santa Barbara where he currently lives and join the sheriff's department where a starting salary for a trainee is 57,200 a year and I bet there isn't too much crime there at all.
As long as Charlotte thinks it's ok to pay police $30662 starting salary- they will continue to get what they pay for and they will NEVER be a first class city.
The money is there... people have to decide what is more important to them.. another feel good program for people who don't do anything- or a first class effective police department that is paid what they deserve. New management is on order as well.
Keep after this Tara- I intend to. No CIVILIAN should put their life on the line for pennies.
Reply to this
Our city has more concerns about where you park your car than the real crime we have in our city.Take the employees who we pay and put them where they are really needed.City councel get real!!!
Reply to this
Just like every media outlet, it appears this one is going to end up going the way of "Bash the COPS!!!" The problem with Charlotte is EVERYONE COMPLAINS!!!! That is all anyone does. It is like this city thinks that it is so far above everyone else. I am a cop here in Charlotte. I enjoy helping people and putting bad people in jail. BUT..and I accept this...no matter what the police do, it will never be good enough for the citizens of Charlotte. It would nice to get paid more, but I didn't take this job for the money (I got paid more in the military). And to Katie Wiginton...are you saying that because my starting salary is low that I am not going to do my job? Or that I am not good at my job?
I am going to try to check in here every so often. I actually like to read what the citizens think of us. Go ahead and feel free to bash me on here. I will take it.
Reply to this
Blah... actually- I was saying you (Charlotte Police) deserve MORE MONEY... and better management. I think you would get QUALIFIED people applying and/or transferring if the salary offered was better... I understand police work is usually a calling.. however- most policeman like to eat and live somewhere besides their car.
I'm not sure why it wasn't clear to you- but picking on cops is not my thing.. I am the daughter and great grand-daughter of San Francisco homicide detectives and the mom of a wannabe policeman- sniveling however is not a good cop quality- so I HOPE -I read your post wrong.
Reply to this
Kaite, the part that I had issues with was "As long as Charlotte thinks it's ok to pay police $30662 starting salary- they will continue to get what they pay for and they will NEVER be a first class city."
The wording makes it sound like the more pay, the better the officer. Sure we all like to eat and not live in our cars. You could pay me 75,000 dollars a year and I would do the same amount of work as I do now, alot. Sniveling? Huh? You know the quality of officer I am by reading a post? Sniveling. Show me where that occurs.
Reply to this
Blog editor replies : The big problem here isn't the police, it is the desperate underfunding of our courts, which keep spinning these criminals back out on the streets. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department leadership endlessly cheerleads with positive crime numbers. And no, they don't do revealing comparisons to other places. But the fault for our increaseing crime rates ultimately lies with our politicians, who in this state are fighting against building new prisons and have little interest in adequately funding our court system.
Blah, you're telling me that you are a police officer in Charlotte and all you have to say about the "numbers" is that everyone likes to complain and then had the nerve to jump on the defensive when someone rallied on your behalf for more money?!? Are you serious??? Man, we ARE in trouble, crime is rampant and the police are "sniveling" idiots!
Reply to this
You are exactly who I am talking about. If I was sniveling it would sound something like this "I need more money, I don't want to work today, it's hot outside etc." I know you are just trying to ruffle my feathers by calling me and my co-workers idiots. You will have to do better than that to get a rise out of me. So keep trying. Wipe the potato chip grease off your shirt, get of your mom's basement.
If Charlotte is worse than LA, move to LA.
I am pretty sure that most violent crime in Charlotte, like in LA, occurs in violent neighborhoods. (Nowhere near your moms basement)
Again, I keep hearing this sniveling thing. But where? When I say you complain, it is actually quite entertaining. You know, the person who has a little fender bender in the Wal-Mart parking lot and kicks and screams when the police don't get there for 45 minutes.....or the people saying "i never see the police in my neighborhood but then complain when we pick up her kid spray painting the local playground" It's great, can never be satisfied. It is good that people have high expectations of the police department. All I was saying is I don't need more money to do my job (allthough it would be nice) if you consider that sniveling, then pass the tissues. When I start worrying more about money than YOU, or my fellow OFFICER, I will let you know. Like I would tell everyone, go out and ride, maybe with officers that work Nations Ford Road, or West Blvd, anywhere in the North Tryon or Eastway Division some night. Then tell me if money should be of my main concern. I'd gladly trade money for more officers. Have fun with Dungeons and Dragons.
Reply to this
By the way, numbers can be deceiving. Although it is in theory a uniform way of reporting, cities do reports differently. Here for example, if 15 cars get broken into in a mall parking lot, that is 15 seperate reports, 15 seperate incidents, 15 seperate victims. Other cities may put that on one report. Just as an example. Go ahead and rip that one apart too saying I am making excuses blah blah blah. Believe me, as someone that has lived in other large cities, There is a reason I chose to live in Charlotte. This is a beautiful city. I am not scared to live here, I am not scared for my wife or son. I just know where to go and what to do to give myself a chance of not being a victim.
Reply to this
The numbers are there, the crime stats are there. What is so difficult? Crime in charlotte is up,. its not a very safe city. I dont say this from my five star hotel, I say this from someone who has seen first hand the crime in charlotte.
Reply to this