CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers say overall violent crime is down 20 percent in the city.
But several high-profile murders in the past few months are leaving some Charlotteans feeling unsafe, particularly in Uptown.
State and federal lawmakers told Queen City News that even if the numbers show a decrease in crime, the public perception problem needs to be fixed to ensure people want to keep spending time in Charlotte. To do that, they believe there's work needed on the local, state, and federal levels.
"If you don't feel safe, you're not safe, and too many of the citizens throughout the city aren't feeling safe," said Charlotte City Councilman Malcolm Graham.
Charlotte leaders said they're aware many people are on edge after several Uptown shootings and the highly publicized stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on the CATS Blue Line train. That's despite CMPD commanders saying homicides are down 24 percent, aggravated assaults are down 19 percent, and robberies are down 22 percent.
"I think CMPD has made remarkable strides, even with struggling with vacancies in the force and with the judicial system budget being cut," said North Carolina Democratic Rep. Laura Budd. "I think they could do a lot more, but I think that requires the General Assembly to do a lot more to support our law enforcement across the state."
Republican Congressman Mark Harris is skeptical of the data from CMPD.
"I'm not quite sure where their numbers are coming from," he said. "I think on a deeper dig, there's some statistics that kind of got my attention that really murders are up 200 percent in the first three quarters of 2025 in Uptown Charlotte."
Harris is quoting numbers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, which wants National Guard troops in the city.
"If there is a situation that is becoming very dangerous, and there's certainly federal interest involved here, I think that that's something that we need to take a look at and have that conversation," said Harris.
Budd told us the National Guard troops aren't welcome in the Queen City.
"No good has come of the National Guard rolling out to any city in the United States, not to mention the massive violations of federal law," she said.
Budd said she's not surprised to hear more than 60 percent of the violent crime arrests in the city involve repeat offenders. She said there's not a singular approach to fix the problem.
"There are going to be people who simply need to be removed from the streets," she said. "They've got to spend more time behind bars. There are going to be people; how many of them statistically have mental health issues?"
Budd believes the General Assembly needs to put a focus on public safety and mental health solutions.
Queen City News asked Congressman Harris what can be done at the federal level to help keep violent repeat offenders off the streets.
"I think that's one way that the federal government can step in and say, hey, if you're pushing cashless bail in your jurisdiction, if you're defunding the police in your jurisdiction, don't be looking to taxpayers across America to fund your state and local laws that are bringing these kinds of disturbing results," he said.
Locally, CMPD commanders are rolling out two new initiatives: One will focus on improving nighttime safety in Uptown and South End by making sure there are more visible patrols. The other involves stricter enforcement and more collaboration with community partners.
The goal with both is to start to rebuild trust and restore confidence in policing.
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