NC House Republicans give Charlotte a preview of their 2024 anti-crime solutions
State and local leaders say they’re putting together a “comprehensive legislative agenda” to address crime in Charlotte.
Speaking Wednesday after a meeting with Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari and state Rep. John Bradford, state House Speaker Tim Moore told The Charlotte Observer they’re working to achieve state solutions to Charlotte’s crime worries. The trio spoke with the Observer after meeting to discuss the legislature’s role in reducing recidivism, youth crime and more.
Moore and Bradford are running for Congress in the 14th and 8th districts, respectively.
The meeting came about a week after Bokhari proposed a new task force on crime in the wake of an uptown shooting on New Year’s Eve. Bokhari called Wednesday’s meeting a “natural progression” from his previous announcement.
“Today was sort of the initial soft launch, if you will, of the workgroup to work through this,” Moore said.
While the condensed length of the 2024 legislative session creates constraints, the group acknowledged, they’re hopeful a surge of interest in public safety can help bridge historical divides between the Democrat-led city and the Republican majority in the statehouse.
What can leaders do to reduce recidivism, youth crime?
Moore told the Observer he believes “too many people, particularly in this county, are being released under no or very low bonds” despite legislation passed at the state level last year to address the bail and bond system.
“And while they’re out on bond, they’re continuing to re-offend over and over and over again,” he said. “... The state law is the same in all 100 counties, but if you go west across the Catawba River, or if you go east to some of the other counties, folks are not being released to the extent that they are here in Mecklenburg County. And so the question is, what’s being done wrong, and what’s being done right?”
Experts told the Observer shortly before the 2023 law passed that concerns over magistrates setting bonds either “too low” or “too high” were a constant topic of discussion across the state. The Safe Alliance, a resource for victims of domestic violence, told WCNC in February they frequently see domestic violence offenders being released on lower bonds in Mecklenburg County. And in 2022, CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings made headlines when he called the bond amount for a suspect accused of shooting and wounding an officer “absolutely unacceptable.”
Moore said one solution is creating more accountability for magistrates, who set release conditions and are hired rather than elected like judges. That could include creating a scorecard for magistrates or modifications to how magistrates are supervised, he said.
Bradford, who sponsored the legislature’s 2023 crime bill, said he thinks many of the issues with repeat offenders in Charlotte “come back to the magistrates.”
“And since they aren’t elected, how do you (create) a way for the public to know how are they enforcing the law? And a scorecard approach may be a great way to do that,” the northern Mecklenburg Republican said.
Crimes committed by young people is another issue that’s been raised in the wake of the New Year’s Eve shooting, when a 19-year-old allegedly shot five people.
While final figures haven’t been released, overall violent crime was on the decline in Charlotte in 2023, CMPD said previously. But shootings among individuals under the age of 18 spiked 32% from the previous year.
Amid those trends, Moore said he believes the legislature should revisit who qualifies to be tried as a juvenile as opposed to as an adult in the state’s judicial system.
“I think there’s a recognition that we’re going to have to revisit some of that,” he said. “... You have so many youthful offenders who are committing some of these crimes that, frankly given the nature, ought to be put into the adult system, probably more readily than what’s happening.”
How much can be done in a legislative ‘short session’?
Moore said it remains “to be determined” how much the legislature could get done to address crime in the 2024 legislative session. After a prolonged 2023 run, legislators will return to Raleigh in April for an abbreviated term. It’s also an election year for state representatives.
But he still “anticipates something substantive, particularly since you have members of leadership that are interested.”
“We know what some of the problems are. A lot of what we may do will be gathering data to move forward,” he said. “But I think we’ll be in a position to do a number of things when we go into short session.”
Overcoming partisan, Charlotte vs. Raleigh divides
Bokhari said he’s optimistic about progress because local and state leaders “haven’t had the conversations in Charlotte in over a decade like we’ve had in the last week.”
“We’ve been known as ‘the great state of Mecklenburg’ for a long time, and not in a positive way,” he said. “The fact that people are putting all that aside and saying, ‘How can we help? What can we do?’ And then brainstorming on the strategies … I think this is pretty groundbreaking for where we are today.”
Moore and Bokhari said Wednesday it will also be important to include stakeholders other than elected officials in discussions, including victim advocacy groups and grassroots organizations working to address crime and its root causes.
Bokhari added that, based on his recent discussions with Democratic leaders in Charlotte, he believes there’s bipartisan momentum for “holistic” solutions.
“It’s not an R or D item. It’s a Charlotte item. And it’s gonna take a collaborative approach where all perspectives at the table, all feel like they’re heard,” he said. “And I think if we operate in good faith, we can do something that hasn’t been done before.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 6:46 PM.
