The Bad News Report

[videtur quam contuor]

I did some amateur research  a year or two ago to count the sworn officers in Meck County and with CMPD plus sheriff deputies plus town PD staff and UNCC and CMS police and HP in the county and others, it was close to one officer per 250 population. Too lazy to refresh my research but is that enough? Recall that sworn means required to enforce the law 24/7. Caveats abound.

Edited February 25, 2019 by tarhoosier

[Dandy Chiggens]

As of Jan 2019.  CMPD says they are understaffed by 180 officers.  But CMPD could be wrong according to some here......

 

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/cmpd-still-short-roughly-180-officers-looking-to-attract-millenials/905432538

 

Let the down votes commence.

[kermit]

15 minutes ago, Dandy Chiggens said:

As of Jan 2019.  CMPD says they are understaffed by 180 officers.  But CMPD could be wrong according to some here......

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/cmpd-still-short-roughly-180-officers-looking-to-attract-millenials/905432538

Thanks for your evidence-based post. Its way more productive than a political rant.

[elrodvt]

Need to understand where staff goes vs crime. I have my opinions....

[Brendv7]

I wish we could get together all the “police are terrorists” people along with all the “police are warriors whose boots should be licked” people and put them on an island where they can argue with each other and leave everyone else alone. 

[Dandy Chiggens]

2 hours ago, Brendv7 said:

I wish we could get together all the “police are terrorists” people along with all the “police are warriors whose boots should be licked” people and put them on an island where they can argue with each other and leave everyone else alone. 

I haven't ever seen anybody argue the second point. 

[CLT2014]

On 2/25/2019 at 9:18 PM, elrodvt said:

Need to understand where staff goes vs crime. I have my opinions....

CMPD has said they are having a hard time focusing resources with how spread out this years homicides are. Crime is ranging from a double homicide last night near Rhino Market, to the double homicide in Ballantyne (police new this guy was a risk), to drive by shootings in each quadrant of the city. 

Last night's double homicide has bumped us up to 10th highest homicide rate nationwide with 24 homicides (one every other day this year).  We are just below Detroit and Philadelphia at 8th and 9th. 

2017 was the most violent year in the last 25 years.... and by this same point was only at 17 homicides. We could very easily crack the 100 mark and end up with the 3rd highest murder rate in the Southeast after New Orleans and Jacksonville. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by CLT2014

[Hushpuppy321]

I do hope things calm down from a homicide propective for sure.  Charlotte is such a lovely city - it’d be a shame for us to continue down this violent path.

[SoDoSoPa]

Unfortunately more officers normally doesn't impact domestic type homicides, which made up 19 or the 25 murders so far in 2019.

No doubt CMPD is understaffed, but just hiring won't help in this area I'm afraid. 

[Dale]

Don’t think it’s a law enforcement problem.

[rancenc]

The continuing shake up of brick and mortar retail...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/07/investing/charlotte-russe-closing/index.html

[KJHburg]

this is bad news if you were parked in this lot in east Charlotte today.   Someone hijacks an Medic ambulance and ......

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/watch-man-crashes-stolen-medic-truck-into-multiple-vehicles-police-say/936049958

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

On 3/9/2019 at 3:48 PM, rancenc said:

The continuing shake up of brick and mortar retail...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/07/investing/charlotte-russe-closing/index.html

One less thing to compete with "Charlotte" on google searches. (It appears first)

Edited April 2, 2019 by CarolinaDaydreamin

[11 HouseBZ]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

this is bad news if you were parked in this lot in east Charlotte today.   Someone hijacks an Medic ambulance and ......

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/watch-man-crashes-stolen-medic-truck-into-multiple-vehicles-police-say/936049958

At least it was one of their old buses, he might of actually did them a favor lol. I'd try to cash out with insurance for a new one. 

[KJHburg]

This is terrible 2 people shot dead 4 injured at UNCC today in Kennedy building.  Shooter is a student according to reports

I love this city but this city has a violent crime problem that needs to be cured.  Please PRAY for the safety of everyone in this city and we need to pray for peace over this city.  I am sick and tired of the murders in this town it is out of control.  

Please do not make this political debate but get on your knees and pray for this city and its residents, its students, everyone . This violence needs to stop! 

[Hushpuppy321]

I agree with you wholeheartedly.  

[elrodvt]

@KJHburg, I thought Charlotte was a bit below average for it's size?

[drumsy]

2 hours ago, KJHburg said:

This is terrible 2 people shot dead 4 injured at UNCC today in Kennedy building.  Shooter is a student according to reports

I love this city but this city has a violent crime problem that needs to be cured.  Please PRAY for the safety of everyone in this city and we need to pray for peace over this city.  I am sick and tired of the murders in this town it is out of control.  

Please do not make this political debate but get on your knees and pray for this city and its residents, its students, everyone . This violence needs to stop! 

Amen!

[KJHburg]

52 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

@KJHburg, I thought Charlotte was a bit below average for it's size?

Not sure but the rapid increase of murders this year is very alarming.  If you can find that information please share it.  

[11 HouseBZ]

From a quick search on the webs show that a good percentage are domestic or the victims knew their killers. Unfortunately the police can't do much for those. But the drug, robbery, violent crime related ones they can, they are just really short staffed. Not as many people want to be police officers anymore. 

Edit: Here's the first quarter link from CMPD. This was released April 3rd so it's already out of date.

https://charlottenc.gov/CMPD/Safety/Pages/CrimeStats.aspx

Edited May 1, 2019 by 11 HouseBZ

[15895]

4 hours ago, KJHburg said:

This is terrible 2 people shot dead 4 injured at UNCC today in Kennedy building.  Shooter is a student according to reports

I love this city but this city has a violent crime problem that needs to be cured.  Please PRAY for the safety of everyone in this city and we need to pray for peace over this city.  I am sick and tired of the murders in this town it is out of control.  

Please do not make this political debate but get on your knees and pray for this city and its residents, its students, everyone . This violence needs to stop! 

 

I didn’t hear anything about it until friends told me. Didn’t really make headlines at all. Some new sites had it on the website but Way down the list, not obvious 

 

My point to that it’s just so sad that mass shootings are so common place, it’s no longer shocking people can be gunned down at universities.... 

[KJHburg]

with great sadness The Grumpy Cat has passed away.  Not a cat fan myself but I did like this one.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/celebrities/grumpy-cat-dead-intl-scli/index.html?

Lets all remember his visit to uptown Charlotte and the Iveys Hotel.

https://www.theiveyshotel.com/grumpy-cat.html

[DEnd]

10 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

with great sadness The Grumpy Cat has passed away.  Not a cat fan myself but I did like this one.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/17/celebrities/grumpy-cat-dead-intl-scli/index.html?

Lets all remember his visit to uptown Charlotte and the Iveys Hotel.

https://www.theiveyshotel.com/grumpy-cat.html

Best Charlotte review since George Washington.  RIP Grumpy Cat.

[QCxpat]

From today's CBJ  -  "Parks to factor into city's planning  process after dismal national rank," by Ashley Fahey - Subscriber Article

Excerpts from CBJ story:  

"The Queen City has moved up one notch nationally in a parks ranking, now making it the second-worst municipality of the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. when it comes to public park access, investment and amenities." ... "While Charlotte fared very well on park size — the Queen City's median park measures 16.5 acres, more than triple the national ParkScore median of 5 acres and the second-highest in the nation, behind Nashville, Tennessee — the report marked Charlotte abysmally low on other measures.  Only 36% of Charlotte residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park, and investment in parks is currently about $48 per resident versus the national average of $90 per resident."  ...  "Access to parks is in many ways an equity issue.   A  study earlier this year by the University of British Columbia that examined 10 U.S. cities found a strong correlation between access to urban vegetation, including public parks, and higher-educated residents and incomes in a metro.  Parks have also proven, including locally, to be an economic development driver.   Romare Bearden Park in uptown, for example, along with BB&T Ballpark adjacent to it, helped spur nearly $1 billion in economic development, according to a presentation by the county last year.  Newly constructed apartment buildings, a Kimpton hotel and an office tower (one block away but connected by a promenade) have been built during this development cycle around Romare Bearden."  ... "Taiwo Jaiyeoba (the city's Planning Director) said he was at first surprised by the low ranking, referencing the amount of green space around the city, but said accessibility as measured in the ParkScore report shows that many Charlotteans can't get to a park via walking or by biking there."   "You have to drive to get to an open space," he continued.  On a park amenities front, Charlotte does better than average on basketball hoops but lags in playgrounds, dog parks, recreation and senior centers, and bathrooms, the latter of which it ranked in ParkScore's seventh percentile." ... "Other North Carolina cities included on the list fared better than Charlotte:  Raleigh scored the highest, at No. 28, while Greensboro was ranked No. 64, Durham No. 72 and Winston-Salem No. 86.  When we don’t have those public places, we have a disconnected city," Shannon Binns (Founder and Executive Director of non-profit Sustain Charlotte) said.  "Parks, I think, are often thought about as this luxury ... but they are so integral to having good public health, low crime and a real sense of place and community."

Link:  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2019/05/28/how-parks-will-factor-into-citys-planning-process.html?

[Scribe]

I've said it at 100 times and will say it until something changes with the way ParkScore does the bs scoring -- ParkScore is a worthless metric as it stands right now.

Their data is garbage and their biased against neighborhoods with amenities that would put many public parks to shame is evident. Their sole purpose seems to be to give consultants a "published study" to point at and say "You're not spending enough!". There is a thread on the parks in charlotte and ParkScore that goes into detail on this forum.