For CMPD, a ‘challenging year’ ends with fewer overall crimes but more violent ones
Violent crime in Charlotte increased by 15% in 2020 while overall crime decreased by almost 20% in what Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Johnny Jennings called a “very difficult and challenging year.”
The increase in violent crimes was primarily driven by a 30% increase in aggravated assaults and an 18% increase in homicides, Jennings said during a news conference Thursday.
There are currently 122 homicides reported for 2020. Jennings said he expects that number to go down as some of those cases are reviewed by the district attorney and recategorized. In 2019, the year ended with 107, and the year prior, there were 57 murders.
Jennings said it is especially tragic when the victims and suspects of these murders are young people.
“Nothing is more frustrating for me as a police chief ... to hear about a homicide where a 15- or 16-year-old has been shot and killed, and then to find out that it was a 15- or 16-year-old that committed the crime,” he said.
Jennings — who became chief in July — said CMPD has tried to lean into the other challenges of 2020 such as the coronavirus pandemic, the George Floyd protests and the review of police policy that followed.
“(I’ve) been doing this for close to three decades and — by far, without a question and without a doubt in my mind — this was the most challenging for law enforcement across the country and for CMPD,” he said.
CMPD holds the news conference annually to release crime statistics and highlight the work of individual officers and the department.
Here’s how crime and police activity compared to the previous year:
▪ There was a 47% increase in shootings into occupied homes and vehicles with 927 incidents. A CMPD task force dedicated to investigating those incidents made 164 arrests and seized 118 illegal guns.
▪ Break-ins decreased by 30%, and robberies dropped by 8%, Jennings said. The dip is likely related to the fact that more people are at home due to the pandemic, he said.
▪ Sexual assault cases decreased by 17%.
▪ Complaints about police officers decreased from 121 to 105 in 2020. Of the year’s total, 75 complaints were internal reports, Jennings said.
▪ There were 385 incidents where police used a type of force — which includes everything from pepper spray to firing a gun — compared to 437 in 2019.
Police also shared data related to the pandemic:
▪ 168 CMPD employees tested positive for COVID-19.
▪ CMPD received 4,366 coronavirus-related complaints and conducted 2,554 in-person checks.
▪ CMPD issued 42 citations and 285 warnings.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 2:40 PM.
