Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department reported Wednesday a drop in crime in the city for the first quarter of the year.
Overall, crime is down 16% compared to 2020 first-quarter crime stats. Property crime is down, including a 33% drop in residential burglaries. Fewer cars were broken into and commercial burglaries are also down.
However, combatting violence continues to be an issue. There have been 25 homicides so far this year with a 40% clearance rate. And Deputy Chief Stella Patterson says there’s been a rise in gun crimes.
"Gun cases are up 7% across the board," Patterson said. "There were 400 assault with deadly weapons cases reported, which is an increase of 33%, and 186 dwellings were shot into during the quarter."
To help curb gun violence, CMPD announced earlier this year its "Crime Gun Suppression Team," which focuses exclusively on gun crimes. The team includes detectives from the Gang Unit, Trap Unit and SIOP Task Force.
The team’s work will be especially crucial as the weather gets warmer — Patterson says that’s when Charlotte typically sees an increase in violence.
