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Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather made a pitch this week to Mecklenburg commissioners for them to continue helping fund his office.
His message: Mecklenburg is very different from any other North Carolina county, with far more violent crime on a per capita basis.
He told commissioners that Mecklenburg County makes up a disproportionate amount of 911 calls across the state. He said there were 2.3 million 911 calls made statewide and that 1.3 million came from Mecklenburg.
(It appears that’s incorrect. The N.C. Department of Information Technology said there were 7.2 million 911 calls statewide in 2023. Mecklenburg is a little more than 10% of the state’s population. So if there were 1.3 million calls from the county that would still be a disproportionate amount.)
Another way to look at it: Charlotte had 110 homicides last year. Wake County usually has about 50 killings a year.
The state is supposed to fund the DA’s office, but Mecklenburg County supplements Merriweather’s budget with nearly $5.5 million a year. That appears to be 10 times as much as any other North Carolina county or city chips in for prosecutors.
“If you hear emotion in my voice, it’s the emotion that I’m thinking about victims that I’m fighting for each and every day,” Merriweather said. “I promise you, if you were to take away any resources, it’s your constituents who would suffer.”
Commissioners appeared eager to continue to help fund Merriweather’s office.
But perhaps the DA should also give his speech to the Charlotte City Council and Mayor Vi Lyles. The city contributes about $430,000 annually to the DA’s office, according to a presentation.
Considering almost all of Mecklenburg County’s violent crime happens in Charlotte, should the city spend more to help Merriweather hire more prosecutors?
