CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Leaders in the Charlotte area and North Carolina at large are working to cut down on youth violence.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the city saw a rise in violent crimes with juvenile suspects in 2023. CMPD said shootings involving a person under the age of 18 as the suspect increased by 33% in 2023, while shootings involving a juvenile victim increased by 18%.
“The trend is this: Kids thinking it’s OK to pick up a gun and fire it at another person to solve whatever perspective issue they think is there," CMPD Lieutenant Kevin Pietrus previously told WCNC Charlotte.
Additionally, CMPD said three teenagers in particular had a total of 91 combined charges for 2023, including auto theft, armed robbery, and assault.
CMPD has multiple youth programs aimed at providing mentorship and guidance to young people in the area. State leaders are also working to address the problem on a larger scale.
NC attorney general addresses youth violence
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein visited Charlotte Tuesday as part of an event spotlighting state and local efforts to prevent human trafficking. While in town, he spoke to WCNC Charlotte about juvenile crime in the state.
“When they engage in crimes there has to be some accountability so that the public is safe and so the kids learn how they have to behave going forward as they become adults," Stein said.
Stein believes the rise in teen crime mostly stems from the fallout of the pandemic.
“We need to reconnect with kids, we need to get them engaged in constructive activities," Stein said.
City and county officials say many of the teens committing crimes could be seeking a thrill, validation, or revenge, with little concern about the consequences. Many find themselves in and out of the juvenile justice system.
“When kids are committing crimes, they need to be held accountable in the juvenile justice system so that they get redirected onto the right path. And if they don’t, of course, there will be worse consequences for their behavior," Stein said.
CMPD recently highlighted three teens, who faced 91 combined charges related to auto thefts in 2023. CMPD said those crimes led to even more, like stealing guns, leading officers on a high-speed chase, robbery and assault.
Stein said there needs to be more of a push to get kids on the right path faster. He believes that push starts in schools, but they need more investment.
“In order to help get kids engaged in school to have more support, our educators are woefully underpaid in this state, and we put too much on them. There are not enough school nurses, school counselors, and school social workers, who can actually help kids." Stein said. “Investing in those support services is an important thing for our state to do.”
Efforts to improve school safety
Wednesday morning, the NC Task Force for Safer Schools held a meeting to discuss the school safety initiatives already in effect.
The task force, which includes students, parents, teachers, school administrators, law enforcement, juvenile justice professionals and mental health professionals, was established in 2013. It's meant to serve as an advisory body for the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools (CFSS).
From guns to drugs, and the possibility of planned attacks, the task force said it's committed to cracking down on crime in schools.
"There’s really nothing more important that we do than trying to keep students in our schools safe," Dr. Jeremy Gibbs with N.C. Dept. of Public Instruction said at the meeting.
Their efforts were boosted on Wednesday when the CFSS announced $35 million in state-funded grants for training and services to combat crime and support students in crisis, including cameras, vape and weapon detection systems.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Cleveland County Schools, Kannapolis City Schools, and Iredell-Statesville Schools are just four of the 230 districts awarded the money. These funds can potentially be used for mental health services, including anxiety and trauma training.
As efforts to strengthen school security continue, Karen Fairley, who leads the CFSS, said North Carolina remains focused on addressing the growing concern of bullying. She said the issue is the most common anonymous report on the 'Say Something' system used by students in participating districts.
“Bullying and cyberbullying has been No. 1, since the inception of us doing this," Fairley said to other task force members.
The group is also seeking additional funds from the state legislature to continue education on the safe storage of weapons and storage tools for gun owners.
“Within an hour, one-third of all high school students in the state of North Carolina said that they could get access to a firearm that is loaded and so, that is obviously very concerning," Deputy Secretary William Lassiter with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention said.
A list of public school units that were awarded 2023-24 School Safety Grant funding can be found here.
About the School Safety Grant
In 2018, the General Assembly worked with the Department of Public Instruction to launch a new School Safety Grant Program to improve safety in public school units by providing grants for school resource officers, services for students in crisis, training to increase school safety, safety equipment in schools and additional school mental health support personnel.
Since then, more than $150 million has been awarded to public school units across North Carolina, according to CFSS.
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