Charlotte homicide rate hits 14-year high

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — New data shows North Carolina’s largest city suffered its highest rate of homicides last year in more than a decade.

The crime data detailed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Tuesday shows Charlotte’s 2019 rate of 11.6 homicides per 100,000 people surpassed each year’s since 2005.

It’s more than double the rate from just six years ago, when the city recorded its lowest homicide rate.

Police Chief Kerr Putney has criticized judges for granting bail to people with murder charges, denounced the amount of dismissed criminal charges by county prosecutors and called for greater investment in community groups.