County leaders question urgency of new violence prevention plan from health director

Charlotte’s homicide in 2019 — the highest in more than a decade — constitutes a public-health crisis, Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told commissioners at their annual retreat Wednesday.

But the public health community violence prevention plan that Harris presented — which she acknowledged was drafted within a “very short time frame” — drew scrutiny from commissioners, who questioned if the proposals were urgent or effective enough.

“(She) already admitted it’s not a crisis response to what we believe to be a crisis,” George Dunlap, the chairman of the Mecklenburg County commissioners, said in an interview. “The expectation is this would come back to us before we adopt a budget.”

Recommendations for county leaders included a neighborhood pilot program oriented around resilience, healing and family stability. A separate neighborhood model could be tied to economic development, potentially a 16-week business mentoring program, according to Harris’s presentation.

Harris also advocated for establishing a violence-interrupter pilot program, a strategy that places community outreach workers within neighborhoods to better address diverse needs.

“This can be the start, but there needs to be a lot more engagement and involvement before we really have a strong comprehensive plan,” Harris told the county commissioners. “We are working very closely with the city on this.”

‘Just the beginning’

Another option to combat violence involves partnering with churches to create faith-based hubs. That program, which appeared to be the county’s most immediate approach, would be funded through a federal grant, Harris told reporters.

Commissioner Pat Cotham said involving churches is a good idea, adding that many religious groups already want to be involved. But she cautioned Harris and the county against using residents to police their own neighborhoods, saying that is not the job of private citizens.

“This is just the first blush, and it is just the beginning,” Cotham said of the public health violence prevention plan. “I wouldn’t call it a crisis response — it’s too early to give it any type of name.”

Harris reasoned throughout her presentation that key issues throughout Mecklenburg — such as violence, chronic disease and economic mobility — all stem from the same root cause that needs to be addressed through granular, community-centric approaches. Her presentation didn’t delve into possible policy changes.

Using the same data shown at a recent Charlotte City Council strategy session, Harris noted that four durable crime hot spots — while totaling fewer than 2 square miles — account for about 8% of all violence crime incidents under the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s jurisdiction.

Elaine Powell, vice-chair of the county commissioners, emphasized Mecklenburg needs immediate solutions to address the soaring homicide rate.

“There’s an urgency in the community, and I think the community is hungry to be heard,” Powell said. “I hope that will be the first part of what we can do now.”

‘Connecting all the dots’

Sonya Harper, the director of the county’s Criminal Justice Services Department, explained the violence-interrupter model. She said Mecklenburg would need to engage community residents, local businesses owners, faith leaders and service providers.

A pilot program could cost about $2 million, pulling from city and county dollars, Harris estimated.

“It’s this focus of identifying the folks in the community who are high risk, and then working through this continuum to mobilize change,” Harper told the county commissioners

The county is exploring a hospital-based intervention with Atrium Health, as well. That program would support victims of violent crime through counseling and social support, Harris said.

In the coming months, Harris said, Mecklenburg will develop additional plans as it continues discussions with law enforcement, health-care providers and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, among other organization.

“The big challenge we have is making sure we’re connecting all the dots,” Harris told reporters.

CORRECTION

An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Charlotte’s homicide rate. It was not a record but was the highest in more than a decade.

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 5:58 PM.