CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In an exclusive sit down with WCNC Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden shared his thoughts on the rise in youth violence and the summer ahead.
"The kids are going to have conflict, the same conflict they have in school," McFadden said. "The drama that they had in school is going to come to the streets or come to your home and that’s what I’m worried about.”
Already this year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said there have been more than 20 shootings and more than 220 auto thefts in Charlotte connected to young people.
"The shootings don’t surprise me. The auto thefts have always been a problem in our city and kids come up with the fascination of a dare," McFadden said. "I believe that we will see more because we have seen the end of the school year being violent with the kids going to school, so imagine they have a lot of free time ... . If somebody says they're not worried, they can't be telling the truth. I'm worried."
Long-term, he said, it's going to take state and local leaders addressing systemic challenges like poverty and providing programs that support the youth to curb crime.
"Talk to our youth, be in their spaces, go where they go," McFadden said. "We have to be there for them when no one else is there, but we also have to be consistent.”
Short-term, he said, reopening the county's youth detention center could help.
“It’s easy to keep people behind bars, but how do you help them while they’re behind bars," he said. "How do you help them while they’re in the criminal justice system?"
The juvenile detention center in Mecklenburg County was closed in 2022 due, in part, to staffing issues at the main jail, but now there are growing conversations from county leaders about reopening the facility.
"I will still say this, resources, funding will allow me, Sheriff of Mecklenburg County, to reopen the best juvenile detention center on the East Coast," McFadden said. "Imagine we could house the same people that they’re talking about committing crimes and produce better youth back into the community.”
Right now, he said a combination of North Carolina's Raise the Age law, which provides looser penalties for nonviolent offenders, and a lack of space at available juvenile facilities allow young people who may otherwise end up behind bars to be allowed back home with their families.