Charlotte police say crime is down (10-16-2025--Hour1)

What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron. Go to thepetecleanershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for your support. Beginning in the next hour, I will be chatting with Terry Donovan. She is the Republican candidate for mayor of Charlotte. We'll talk with her Tomorrow. I'll talk to the Libertarian candidate for mayor of Charlotte, Rob Yates, so stay tuned for that. Obviously, one of the big issues, if not the issue, in that mayor's race for Charlotte is crime. So let me start with the crime stats, which I'm sure coincidentally. I'm not saying that facetiously. I mean I am fluent in sarcasm, so I know sometimes it's hard to tell, but I'm sure it's purely coincidence that the data dump yesterday by CMPD came the day before early voting begin which is today. Early voting begins today, and just in time, the data is out on the previous where I should say, the first three quarters of data on crime. This runs from January through September. Okay, so. You know a nine month tally compared to the previous time or the same time period previous year. So we're looking at the first three quarters of twenty twenty four, first three quarters of twenty twenty five, and CMPD is highlighting that overall crime has dropped eight percent. Violent offenses dropped twenty percent. So here's from their statement. Today, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department released its third quarter public Safety report for January through September twenty twenty five, showcasing a substantial decline in crime city wide. By the way, I see nothing in. The release about the long term trend going back, say a decade, because the spike that we saw after the summer of fiery but mostly peaceful rioting that has warped the stats because we saw such an increase over the course of two years essentially, and now it's dropping again. So when you hear the statistics and remember about lies, damnable lies and statistics that when you hear a decline in the crime stats, to me, what's important is always, okay, what's the historical trend line and is this a lower level than it was pre COVID, because that's the marker. Because when COVID hit, crime went through the roof. Because it also overlaid with the George Floyd protests and all of the quote bail reforms and judicial reforms that were enacted by Democrat leaders all across America, Charlotte included, and we're still dealing with this stuff today. And in fact, to their credit, CMPD referenced the court system because in my view, this is really the problem. It is the court system. It's these judges that keep letting repeat offenders out. Every single day. There's another story about somebody can emitting some sort of violent offense and either they were a a turnstiled defendant just in and out and in and out and in and out, a repeat, repeat, repeat offender, right, or it's somebody who was out on a cashless bail. By the way, they did catch the guy that was wanted for murder in Maryland who was let go from the Mecklenburg County jail. The other day last week they let him out. Think his name was Boatwright. They let him out and they were like, well, we didn't have any kind of warrant from the governor. Now Maryland disputes that. Maryland says we did have a warrant for him. So not really sure what's going on there, but they let him out. But don't worry. He's not roaming our streets anymore. Somehow or another, he did get picked up. So murder suspect back behind bars. That's the latest I saw in that story. But at least CMPD is calling attention to the courts. Unlike every other Demo crat leader in Charlotte, they have not spoken about the court system. They are applying no pressure to their fellow Democrats, these lawyers with the wardrobe change that sit. On the bench. They're not doing any kind of pr campaign against them to try to get them to be tougher, particularly on the. Repeat, repeat offenders. So they found, as I mentioned, decrease in overall crime eight percent, decrease in violent crime twenty percent. This is for the entire city, for the entire CMPD footprint. Okay, these encouraging trends reflect the department's commitment to data driven policing, innovative crime prevention strategies, and the unwavering dedication of officers working in close partnership with the community. Through the first nine months of the year, overall crime has declined eight percent compared to the same time last year. Twenty percent reduction of violent crime that includes homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults, which in comus shootings. Property crime, which includes residential and commercial auto theft and larceny, is down five percent. Now, if you go deeper into those numbers, they're not all down. Residential burglaries are down about one hundred, going from like thirteen hundred down to twelve hundred, but commercial burglaries are actually up. They're up by about seventy five. Larceny from automobiles also up a little bit, went from like seventy seven hundred, just under seventy seven hundred to a little above seventy seven hundred, So I would call that flat line. It was up by like twenty twenty cases. And by the way, you actually can do a lot to help in this regard. Everybody can lock your freaking car doors, people, and don't leave your guns in your car, like these are obvious things. I don't understand somebody who leaves a gun in the glove box and leaves the car unlocked. I used to come from a neighborhood. We didn't have to worry about that. Okay, well, you know what, it's a different time. You're in a different place. Got to lock the doors, lock the car doors. Okay, there's my soapbox moment for the Well, that's not true. I'm going to probably I'm going to have a couple more. I feel like I'm going to have a couple more. So I should make the promise. That's the only one. A quote from Charlotte Mecklenberg Police Deputy Chief Jackie Briley, who said patrol officers are the most visible part of the department. They're in our communities, building relationships to turning crime, providing services to our residents. Every day, our officers intervene in disputes, stop crimes in progress, and prevent violence without it ever making the news. She's exactly right. She's exactly right. The crimes that CMPD prevent never make the news, never because they didn't happen, and it's not newsworthy. In some cases, you don't even know you prevented a crime. You're just walking around, some crime will seize you. They don't engage in the activity. The cop doesn't know that. The only person that knows that they were thwarted was the criminal. And they're not going to you know, WBT news and saying hey, I was going to do a crime and then I saw a cop, so I didn't do it, you know, So there's no way to track this stuff. But she is exactly right. But also I would point out here that she is articulating a concept where more police presence, visible police presence, leads to a reduction in crime. That's what she just said. They are the most visible part of our department. They're in the community, they're talking with residents, they're deterring crime. Right. Their mere presence helps to reduce those numbers. Look, I am a realist, I am a citizen of Realville, right, because I know that you will never get to a zero crime rate. That's never going to happen. Right. However, this idea, and this is what I bristle at the most, is this narrative that is being advanced by city leaders that it's a perception of safety and CMPD also articulated this yesterday in their press conference. There's this that people don't perceive that they're safe, and if they don't feel safe, then they're not safe. Right, that's this narrative that they're using. Councilman Malcolm Graham said, if you don't feel safe, you're not safe. And too many of the citizens throughout the city aren't feeling safe. Well, what does this narrative actually mean? It means you're delusional. That's what they're saying to you, to me, to everybody, that we are delusional. See crime rates down, but you have this perception. But crime rates down, Yes, it may be down, but that doesn't mean it's at an acceptable level. Oh well, I'm not saying that. Yeah, but you kind of are. You kind of are saying that because you're saying, oh, it's just your perception. See, let's get a perception. So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, and before he died, my mom and my dad took care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers and family. But things are different today because of the work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of Western Carolina. It's a great organization with awesome people with huge hearts. I've been a supporter for twenty five years. This cause means a lot to me. I participate in the annual Walk to end Alzheimer's and I'm leading a Charlotte team again this year, and it's called once again Pete's Pack. You can sign up and you can join the team and. Walk with us. It's on October eighteenth, that truest field. Sign up at alz dot org slash Walk and then you can search for my team name Pete's Pack. There's also a link at thepetepod dot com. There's also a link in the description of this podcast. Also, I'll be am seeing the Gastonia Walk on October eleventh, and so you can make a team and join that one too, or make a donation and help me hit my goal of five thousand dollars. If you do, I really appreciate it. There are a bunch of other walks all over the Carolinas. You can go to alz dot org slash walk for all the dates and locations. We're closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us get there? Will you walk with me? For a different future, for families, for more time for treatments. This is why we walk. Let me go over to the text line seven oh four number Anonymous says, do you think it is merely coincidence that the de Carlos Brown hearing for tomorrow was delayed six months and so close to the election? I do yes. According to the reports that I have read, it was actually it was supposed to be today, and it's called a Rule twenty four hearing. It's for the state to determine whether or not they're going to seek the death penalty against de Carlos Brown Junior, the alleged murderer of Arena Zarutzka on the light rail line. According to the story of WBTV, the decision to delay the hearing came from the defense team Brown and his attorney. They did the reason for the delay was redacted. So I don't know why that would be redacted, but it was blacked out. Uh from the documents. So like if you're looking at a death penalty case, these things take a long time, and uh so it's not unusual for there to be delays. So if it had come from the DA's office or the court. I may have some more suspicions, but the fact that it came from the defense, that just seems to be sort of a normal, a normal course of events, you know. All right, let me get back to the crime stats here that were released by c MPD. In fact, hang on a second, let me do do do do? Do? You go over here? This is the story from WSOCTV by Eli Brand regarding the CMPD crime stat reports for the first nine months of the year, and he teases out one of the comments made by CMPD during the press conference. Channel nine's Eli Brand joins us line from CMPD headquarters where police just broke down this data and Eli, they did so, but they also addressed this moment and how people are feeling about their safety right now. Oh yeah. And they started with the statistics, of course, they said overall crime is down eight percent. They said violent crime like murders is down twenty percent this year as compared to last year. At this point, but several CMPD speakers did acknowledge that despite the numbers they presented, people may not be feeling safe in the city of Charlotte. They blamed that feeling on multiple things. They blamed it on high profile incidents in social media those some of them, but they also highlighted repeat offenders. That's something they really hammered down on. They say it is several of the same people that are committing crimes being released in committing crimes again. That are some of the biggest issues in the. City so far this year. CMPD says sixty percent of people that are arrested for violent crimes had been charged with something in the past. Speakers said CMPD has a good relationship with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office, but despite the work that officers do on the ground, it may take changes in the behavior of judges to make a big dent in crimes committed. It takes more than just CNPD in our relationship with the DA's office. You know, we have to do a deeper dive and see what's best for some of these repeat offenders. And so, you know, eventually the conversations will have to stand to the judges and the sentences that they're receiving. Yes, and CMPD did go on to present some of the solutions they're trying to put in place to try and curb crime. They did mentioned patrols that are going to be in cre think, particularly in the Uptown division. Last week we told you that the department plans to increase their presence, especially near bars and other forms of nightlife. All right, So that's an Eli Brand at WSOCTV in the quote there, or I should say the SoundBite was Deputy Chief Jackie Briley, and she's exactly right now. In their press release from CMPD. Despite the encouraging progress in the first nine months of twenty twenty five in reducing overall crime, repeat offenders continue to inflate crime stats and victimization numbers across the city, negatively contributing to the perception of public safety. Now, think about what she said there and what Eli Brand was reporting. Sixty percent of the people that they arrest have priors. That is what we call recidivism. These are oftentimes career criminals, and for some reason, our local court system is incapable or unwilling to identify these threats to the society, giving them what forty second chances or something like. I understand second chances, maybe even a third, but at some point when it is clear that somebody is engaged in sociopathic behavior or psychopathic behavior. They are a threat to the society. You need to protect people because this line here about. You know, they inflate the crime stats and victimization numbers. Okay, the victimization numbers are not like inflated artificially. They're inflated because people are being victimized by the same people over and over and over again. This is not new. This has been going on in Charlotte my entire career here, literally my entire career. When I was a reporter. I started in nineteen ninety nine here and back then I was putting a mic in the face of the Zen District Attorney Peter Gilchrist, asking the very same questions about repeat, repeat offenders. At some point, people in the court system should have recognized what's not working. And I can tell you what's not working. Whatever you're doing right now, that's not working. Okay, whatever you're doing, just stop doing it. Do the opposite of what you're doing now. You know. Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life. And our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video started in nineteen ninety seven and Minhill, North Carolina. It was the first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will go over all of the details with you to create a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They are your life told through the eyes of everyone around you and all who came before you, and they will tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video dot com. Let's go over to the phone line and chat with Alex. Hello Alex, welcome to the program. Hey Hemy, Hey Byte, how you doing. I'm doing all right? How are you okay? Yeah? I just want to comment that last month I mailed a letter to President Trump about the crime situation here in Charlotte. I mean, I've lived my entire life, almost sixty two years on the West side of Charlotte, and you know what a high crime area that is. And over the years, I've seen the city's crime problem escalate dramatically, and I felt it was high time for corrective action to be taken. I mentioned in or that the local political leaders are in it and the judicial system is corrupt, and I say, we need someone in authority to with the ambition, intelligence and encourage to take control of this crime infested Democrat run. What do you so, what do you think of the U, the Charlotte Mecklenberg FOP, the Fraternal Order of Police, their request for National Guard troops to come. Well, I support one hundred percent. I'm with them all the way. I mean, if they see the need for it, and ordinary citizens like me see the need for it, I think it's the political leaders that are screwing up that they're just too proud to admit we have a problem in the city. I mean, well, they. Also I think they also don't want to anger a large portion of their political voting base that wants these types. Of a lot of vote Democrat, you know you're. Right, Well, no, I mean it is like you've got you've got people who are connected to a lot of these services, uh the service providers essentially you know, uh non offits NGOs, and they get contracts, they get they get close to power, they get a seat at the table, they get labeled a stakeholder, they get included in discussions, and it puffs up their their sense of self importance that they're actually you know, making a difference in all of this. Meanwhile, they are deriving financial benefit as well for themselves and whatever organization they're working on. And that's why, like this is a there is a comparative with like the homeless agencies that work out in like Los Angeles and San Francisco, and they're they're not really incentivized to solve the problem because if they solve the problem, then there's no use for them anymore. Yeah, it's just bureaucratic nonsense. Also, about a month ago, was talking with my cousin down in George and we were discussing the crime problem in cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, and I mentioned that if the Devil ever became mayor of Charlotte, he wouldn't have to change much. I mean, this has got This is gotten so evil it doesn't need a mayor, it needs an exorcist. Oh my goodness, you gets to do you get a double thank you, Alex. I appreciate the call, sir, Ah right bud to take care. Yes, sir. Here's a quote from Charlotte Mecklimburg Police Department Sergeant Todd Martin of the Southeast Service Area Crime Reduction Unit or the CRU or as I call it, the crew. He said quote, we continue to see a troubling pattern. A disproportionate number of violent incidents and property crimes are being committed by individuals with extensive criminal histories, many of whom continue to cycle through the justice system without facing meaningful consequences. The cycle of catch and release does not reduce crime in our community. Correct, it does not. This is not even a new lesson to be learned. We already know this policing, crime fighting, right, court systeming. We've all people in these industries have known this. You can't keep letting people break the law and then letting them go without any punishment. And I understand, like, oh, well they made a mistake. Okay, how many mistakes do you get to make? Maybe that should be the conversation, how many mistakes does somebody get to make, five, ten, whatever it is, like, give me a number. I don't know. Like I'm looking. For an optimal standard. I'm looking for something, a benchmark, you might say, something that I can judge policy and results off of. Right. This is why I ask whenever we have the conversation about teacher pay or per pupil expenditures in the education industry, I'm always asking, well, what's the optimal per pupil expenditure? Give me a number. What's the number that it takes to educate all the children per kid? Tell me what's the number? And they don't ever give me the number. They were like, well, maybe if we just get to the national average. Do you even know what that number is? They don't teacher pay. Same thing, same thing here. What's the number? How many violent offenses do I get to commit before I get denied bail, before I before I stand in front of a jury and face actual prison time for it. What's the number? Is it one? You don't get a second chance if you commit certain crimes. Okay, let's have that list. And I know they can make the lists for crying out loud, they made the list on cashless bail. Every misdemeanor category two and three you get to get cashless bail, you get to. Walk, and some of those. I mentioned this the other day. I ran through, I looked over all of the charges and this comes from our local court system. They decide this. The judge in charge of our district, that's Judge Wiggins. He decides they set the bail schedules for all of these crimes. And some of the misdemeanors that are included in that list of cashless bail crimes are things like stalking. It's like stalking. Really you get charged with stalking, which is pretty hard to do. Ask a stalking victim. It's pretty difficult to get the charges to stick. There was also assault. You can assault people and get to walk on a cashless bail. Now, I feel like that shouldn't be something you get to just walk home after. Inconsistent accountability for repeat offenders, both adults and juveniles undermines community safety and places an undue burden on victims, neighborhoods, and law enforcement resources. Right, So I always keep that in mind as well, because you hear democrats talking about how we have to you know, give more money to police departments so they can increase cops pay and do more recruitment. They can fund more recruitment and retention. I don't oppose that. However, they keep citing this as the reason why, you know, crime is up and it's difficult to fight this crime and that sort of thing, and they're like, well, we need the General Assembly to fund these things, even though that is traditionally the role of the local governments to do. However, if you think that that is a huge part of the problem, then why wouldn't you be assailing the judges that allow the people to keep walking out onto the street, requiring more police officers and resources to be devoted to rearresting them when they reoffend. It doesn't make any sense, in which case, reassess your assumptions. Right, if you don't understand the dults, reassess your assumptions. And my assumption is that they're serious about trying to improve public safety, Let me reassess that assumption because what you're saying is not lining up. To what you've done. Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina? Just a quick drive up the mountain, and Cabins of Asheville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for a big old reunion. Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that truly matter. Nestled within the breath taking fourteen thousand acres of the Pisga National Forest, their cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It's the perfect balance of seclusion and proximity to all the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces, air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi, grills, outdoor tables and your own private covered porch. Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages, two villas, and a great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms. Cabins of Ashville has the ideal spot for you for any occasion, and they have pet friendly accommodations. Call or text eight two eight, three six seven seventy sixty eight, or check out all there is to offer at cabins of Aashville dot com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. I'll get to your text messages in a moment. First, here is a message from Russ on Twitter. Russ says, just spitballing here, But maybe the perception of crime is driven by people's real experience. I believe that's. Called our lived experience, and that Trump's reality data. Anything else your lived experience. That's the standard. I didn't make up the standard. That's been the standard though for like the last almost decade. Okay, he says, thirty years ago, my car was broken into at a shopping center. I was the outlier in my friend group, even though most of us lived in or close to sketchy areas. Now I can think of about a dozen people I know who have had homes or cars broken into, cars stolen, and experienced assaults in the last few years, all in the nicer parts of town or downtown. Also, the homeless population seems more prevalent, a little more unstable, more muttering. Unpredictable movements, etc. Etc. I will never forget. I was at a CMPD press conference and the public Information officer at the time. Her name is Julie Hill. She used to be PIO for the City of Charlotte and then moved over to CMPD and I had a good working relationship with her. We both understood, you know, what our roles were. And I was talking to her either before or after one of these data dumps, one of these crime stat update press conferences, and I said to her that I said, if I had to guess, I would say probably almost everybody has been affected by crime. And she pushed back and said she didn't believe that to be the case, and I said, no, I think it's true, whether you personally have been affected by crime or you know somebody who has been affected by crime. And she again pushed back, saying she didn't believe that was accurate. And she said that she did not she was not a victim of any crime, and I said, well, I am, I was multiple times. So now you know somebody who's been affected by crime. There go proving my point. Yeah, And I think that is the case. And the longer a city allows this sort of behavior to occur and persist, the more people are going to fall into my category. Yeah, I mean I had a guy stole stuff out of my shed at the very first house that I owned. He stole my lawnmower, next house that I owned, burglarized. Neighborhood I live in now repeatedly hit by you know, car door poppers, you know the kids that get dropped off at the front of the neighborhood. They roam through the neighborhood checking people's doors, lifting up the door handles, and stealing everything from inside the car if it's unlocked. So yeah, I mean, it's a it is a it's a part of life here in Charlotte. And by the way, like this is just something that everybody accepts and it's not acceptable, you know, but it's like, oh well, like if you're walking around downtown, you should expect to be assaulted. Oh well, I live downtown. I should expect to have a homeless person defecating on my front step. Oh well, like, no, we need to bring back the concept of shaming. I don't think that's my idea. I think I actually stole that from Brett Winterble now that i'm thinking about it, But it's true. It is true. He's exactly right if he said that, which I think he did. We should bring that back. There has to be a shunning, a shaming. It's not cool to engage in this behavior. To run around stealing cars should make you persona non grata in your family, in your community. Nobody should want to have anything to do with you. You are destroying the fabric of society that we all enjoy living in. Let me get to some messages here, Andy says. The elephant in the room that absolutely nobody's talking about is that ever since Black Lives Matter took over downtown Arlotte and pushed the defunding the police idea, we've had very little, if any police presence downtown. I can't remember the last time I saw a beat cop walking downtown. Taking control of downtown uptown will not be an easy task, but possibly with the National Guard in place for a month, the police could maintain After that, look, I've been tying it back to BLM, back to twenty twenty and even before then, with the protests and the riots that erupted after the Keith lmnt Scott shooting, and nobody ever asks the city leadership about this, Nobody ever talks to them. Hey did celebrating BLM and the protests and the riots and the social justice stuff, like, do you think maybe this has long term implications for us? You know, I mean you elected Braxton Winston for crying out loud. Police are the ones, the only one of the tools in the fight against crime. Until DAS and judges joined in the fight, crime cannot be fought effect aggressive enforcement by cops in connection with prosecution by DAS and sure swift sentences handed down by judges, crime will never be controlled. Otherwise, that's exactly right, anonymous number. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.