Center City Leaders Discuss Public Safety Measures in Uptown

City leaders held a press conference Wednesday to discuss initiatives being carried out by the Center City Public Safety Task Force, implemented in late July to address concerns about crime and safety in Uptown. 

The group is composed of leaders in business, local government, health care, CMPD and the nonprofit sector who are tasked with revising public safety strategies in Center City. Its job has become all the more urgent in the wake of Iryna Zarutska’s murder on a Blue Line car in South End in August, which has made public safety a top issue leading into the November municipal elections. 

While crime is down across the city, Uptown has seen a rise in homicides in the Uptown area, including the murder of a 16-year-old boy in the parking garage of the bustling Metropolitan shopping complex in Midtown on Oct. 1. 

“Uptown and South End have seen increases in criminal activity that is inconsistent with our expectations and with our experience,” Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith said at Wednesday’s press conference. 

Smith said the task force is looking to address aggressive criminal behavior by homeless individuals struggling with severe and persistent mental illness, late-night criminal activity, youth criminal activity, and criminal activity around the Central Transit Center in Uptown as well as the Rail Trail in South End.

Read more: Local Women Push to Keep Greenways, Trails Safe Across Charlotte

Smith said he’s concerned that, “due to the grace afforded to the community” during the pandemic, public officials have inadvertently relaxed their standards for public safety.

“In order to restore our higher public safety expectations, we need to implement efforts collectively and offer our full support to our public partners at CMPD and our judicial system,” Smith said. “We are seeking to return to the standards that help define quality of life for residents and guests of our community.”

The Center City Public Safety Task Force was formed to create a plan for public safety with “quick wins and enduring results, providing best practices that can be applied county wide,” Smith said.

The task force’s plan includes collaborating with CMPD to increase its presence in the city but also incorporates initiatives addressing infrastructure, shelter and housing, mental health, and lobbying for legislative changes to the court system. 

City manager Marcus Jones joined Wednesday’s press conference, describing certain steps the city has taken to ensure more officers are available to work in areas of concern like Uptown, including the launch of the Civilian Crash Investigation Unit in late 2024, which minimizes the number of hours police officers are involved in overseeing minor crashes.

During a Charlotte City Council meeting on Sept. 22, Jones said his office has moved civilians into certain positions that were once filled by sworn law enforcement officers but didn’t need to be, such as managing the 911 dispatch center, so as to put around 30 more police officers on the street at any given time doing actual policing.

On Wednesday, CMPD Maj. Gene Lim said that, along with any new initiatives, CMPD will continue existing operations like Operation TRIO (Targeted Response for Intervention and Outreach), formerly Operation Heartbeat, which focuses on reducing violent property crime in high traffic areas. 

That operation originally focused on the Spectrum Center and the Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC) but added Romare Bearden Park, First Ward Park and Fourth Ward Park in July 2024. Lim said the CTC is currently the leading location for arrests followed closely by Romare Bearden Park.

Lim also announced that CMPD has recently launched two new initiatives: The CROWN Initiative and the Entertainment District Unit (EDU). 

In the map above showing homicides that have occurred in Charlotte this year, as tracked by Queen City Nerve, black markers signify deaths by gun violence, green markers signify killings that were deemed justified, red markers signify stabbings, yellow markers signify murder by vehicle, purple markers signify deaths by trauma or unknown cause, and blue markers signify police killings.

The department launched the CROWN Initiative (Center City Restoration of Order, Wellness and Non Violence) this month as a direct response to residents and businesses who have stated that Uptown no longer feels safe, Lim said, elevating police presence within a half-mile radius of the Trade & Tryon streets intersection. 

“I want to be clear that this feeling is unacceptable,” he said. “This is a focused, high-impact effort to immediately shift the environment and perception of our Center City.”

The EDU, on the other hand, is a new unit launched in response to emerging trends of violent crimes occurring near bars and nightlife, Lim said. The specialized police unit is dedicated entirely to making nightlife safer, operating during peak nightlife hours in areas where such activity is focused.

“Their single focus is consistent, high-visibility policing in and around our entertainment districts and major event venues,” he said. “These officers will build direct relationships with security and bar owners. They’ll address problems proactively before violence occurs.”

CMPD is placing officers where and when the crime is most likely to happen, Lim said.

”Disorder will not be tolerated,” he said. “Minor infractions are gateways to major crime and they will be addressed by the CMPD with zero hesitation.”

Lim said the department will focus on “quality-of-life crimes and ordinances” like aggressive panhandling and illegal street vending.

CMPD will also partner with local organizations like the CARES Team, Roof Above and Hearts for the Invisible as a part of the CROWN Initiative to support underserved and unsheltered populations.

“This is such a foundational issue for us to address, and I know that we will restore and meet that standard that we all share together,” Smith said.

Wednesday’s press conference came less than a week after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #9, a union representing local police officers that does not speak for CMPD itself, called on Mayor Vi Lyles and Gov. Josh Stein to request that federal law enforcement, including the National Guard, come to Charlotte to help address crime.

No CMPD official has commented on the FOP’s request since it was made, and it was not directly addressed during Wednesday’s press conference, though it was clear that city leaders did want to assure residents that they are working to address the concerns around crime in Uptown. 

“This is a community-wide initiative with a collaborative approach,” said Jones. “Public safety is one of the city’s highest priorities, but it really takes all of us to make sure that we have safe communities.”