The Major Cities Chiefs Association has just released a Violent Crime Survey comparing the first half of 2024 to the same period last year. The good news is that for most of America’s largest cities, violent crime has declined. The bad news is that in the two North Carolina cities included in the survey, Charlotte and Raleigh, many kinds of violent crimes are up. In Charlotte, for example, there were 45 homicides in the first half of 2023. This year there were 61, an increase of more than 35%. There were also significantly more robberies and aggravated assaults. In Raleigh, the number of homicides almost doubled, from 9 to 16, and the number of rapes increased too.
North Carolinians are already worried about crime, and with good reason. This survey isn’t going to put their minds at rest. Fortunately, we know what to do to bring crime rates down: deploy more well-trained, well-paid police officers in high-crime, high-disorder neighborhoods. Read more about it here, here, and here.
