The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released annual police pursuit statistics dating back to 2010.
CMPD said it only pursues drivers for crimes that endanger life — crimes like homicides, shootings and armed robberies.
In 2019, there were 80 police pursuits. Since then it’s been a steady rise. In 2020, there were 94 and in 2021, that number climbed to 97. So far this year, there have been 61 pursuits as of July 31.
Those figures are a significant jump compared to 52 pursuits in 2010, which dropped to 22 in 2011.
CMPD said that there are multiple factors for the increase over the last few years — including an increase in Charlotte’s population, which has led to more calls for service involving violent crimes. According to CMPD’s Twitter account, police also are reporting more counts of drivers fleeing traffic stops.
Below is a full breakdown of police pursuits dating back to 2010:
2010: 52
2011: 22
2012: 30
2013: 31
2014: 32
2015: 34
2016: 48
2017: 75
2018: 60
2019: 80
2020: 94
2021: 97
2022: 61
