Violent Crime Rates Stagnant In North Carolina’s Largest City For 2023

Finally some (somewhat) good news! It feels like everywhere I turn these days it's just negative things and bad news. But statistics released today by CMPD show that violent crime rates have held steady in Charlotte North Carolina. The violent crime statistics highlighted the 2023 End-of-Year Public Safety Report. Though in 2021 and 2022 the rates decreased. Regardless the department attributes the rates to "multiple successful operations targeted toward overall crime" and an increase in applications and hiring.

“Staying flat in violent crime is no small feat in a city as large and as fast-growing as Charlotte,” said Special Investigations Bureau Major Michael Ford in a press release. “It takes a holistic approach. We are strategic about placing our officers in the most critical areas of the city to increase visibility and proactively deter violent crimes.”

Despite the homicide rate decreasing there was an increase in property crimes according to the data. Another concerning statistic is a rise in juvenile crime. The department referred to it as "one of the biggest challenges" of the year. This included Shootings involving a juvenile suspect as well as shootings involving a juvenile victim. Additionally, Juvenile property crime suspects were up 86% in 2023.

Here are the statistics according to CMPD that provide an "overall snapshot of crime in 2023 compared to 2022":

You can read the full press release here.

I'm all about personal safety. As a woman, there are just certain things I won't do. Things like pumping gas at night, rolling my window down in my car for any reason other than a drive-thru, or engaging with anyone I don't know who approaches me in places like a parking lot. Most apartment complexes won't rent first-floor apartments to women either. These are just some things guys don't have to worry about. And I wish I didn't either. But unfortunately, the world we live in makes women have to be super vigilant and aware of our surroundings. My personal safety just takes priority as it should for everyone. Even though most of the Carolinas are fairly safe, bad things can happen anywhere. But there are some places where crime is more common than others. So what are the most dangerous cities in North Carolina?

NeighborhoodScout conducted the research to answer that question. And it may not be the answer you are expecting. Their research highlighted the 100 most dangerous cities in America. These are cities with a population of 25,000 or more people. And the rankings are based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents.  For the purpose of this list Neighborhood Scout considers violent crimes to be rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault.  According to their methodology, "the data used for this research are the number of violent crimes reported to have occurred in each city, and the population of each city."

A total of 9 Carolina cities made this list. With 5 of the most dangerous cities being in North Carolina, while 4 were in South Carolina. The most dangerous city in the US overall? That was Bessemer Alabama, followed by Monroe, Louisiana. You can read the full list via Neighborhood Scout here or keep reading to see the North Carolina cities that made the list.

The Triad's Winston-Salem is the most dangerous city in North Carolina. Here there is a violent crime rate of 11.4 (per 1,000 residents) and a 1 in 87 chance of being a victim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=16&v=gHtR8WTAubs&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statesvillenc.net%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Only two spots behind Winston-Salem is a city not too far away- Statesville. This Iredell county city has a violent crime rate of 11.2  and a 1 in 87 chance of being a victim.

We have to skip a few spots down the list to find the next NC city named one of the most dangerous- Fayetteville. They are doing better with just a 1 in 103 chance of being a victim and a violent crime rate of 9.7.

Three spots down from Fayetteville is Goldsboro. Goldboro brings to the table the same 1 in 103 chance of being a victim. The city barely beats Fayetteville though with an 8.6 violent crime rate.

Rocky Mount you almost squeaked by without making the list. You were so close. Your 1 in 107 chance of being a victim and 9.3 violent crime rate make you the best of the worst in North Carolina.