Teens are driving the recent rise of shootings in Charlotte, police say
Crimes involving juvenile suspects are on the rise in Charlotte, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s latest public safety briefing.
According to CMPD, while overall violent crime has dropped in 2023, shootings among individuals under the age of 18 have spiked 32% from the previous year.
“The rate at which we are seeing juveniles pull the trigger is alarming, and points to a greater community problem,” CMPD Dep. Chief Jacquelyn Hulsey said during a news briefing Thursday.
“Our kids need to go back to being kids. They need to be engaged in sports, and they need to be participating in youth activities and programs.”
Teens also made up 70% of auto theft arrests so far this year, fueled by the Hyundai-Kia social media challenge, a TikTok trend that involves stealing cars by starting them with USB cables, police said.
“We still need our vehicle owners to take proactive measures,” CMPD Maj. Tori Tellis said. “That includes adding steering wheel locks.”
To combat the uptick in crime, CMPD is about to welcome its largest ever recruit class of 82 new employees, the department said.
Hiring within the department has also increased by 22% from 2022-23, and the number of applications has increased by 18%, according to CMPD.
Here are some other statistics from the briefing:
Homicides are down 5%, from 85 in 2022 to 69 in 2023
Rapes are down 15%, from 217 in 2022 to 185 in 2023
Armed robberies are down 11%, from 1,114 in 2022 to 995 in 2023
Property crimes are up 14%, from 24,378 in 2022 to 27,842 offenses in 2023
Residential burglaries are down 9%, from 1,613 in 2022 to 1,464 in 2023
Commercial burglaries are down 3%, from 1,610 in 2022 to 1,569 in 2023
Larcenies from automobiles are up 6%, from 7,812 in 2022 to 8,291 in 2023
