CMPD Warns of Increased Car Burglaries

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police issued a warning message to local residents regarding the growth of car burglaries in the southwest region of Mecklenburg.

According to police, neighborhoods targeted include those along Steele Creek Road, South Tryon Street, and Moss Road. Wallets, purses, cash, and electronics have been stolen from vehicles left unlocked in those communities.

To prevent your vehicle from being burglarized, be sure to remove any valuables when parking at home or around town. Any suspicious activity should be reported to authorities as soon as possible by calling Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600 or Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at (704) 336-7600.

CMPD Opens New Steele Creek Office

A new police station is opening Wednesday in Mecklenburg's Steele Creek Division. CMPD is holding an opening ceremony at the new location at 2:30 this afternoon. Police chief Monroe is scheduled to appear along with other county and city officials.

The station is located at South Tryon Street and Westinghouse Boulevard and has the capacity for 155 police officers. Steele Creek Division's Shopton Road offices will be replaced by the new location, which is around 12,000 square feet.

Locals hope the new office location will deter criminals in that area. Year-to-date, the Steele Creek Division has been home to 249 violent crimes and 1863 property crimes, a 0.7% increase from this time last year.

Charlotte Streets Increasingly Dangerous For Pedestrians

The death of 28 year old Rhonda Williamson makes the 17th pedestrian fatality in Charlotte this year. She was hit Saturday by 21 year-old Ilse Joanna Perez and died Wednesday. Perez was charged with involuntary manslaughter, hit and run, and driving while intoxicated.

Police say jaywalking was one of the most frequent factors in wrecks involving pedestrians, along with a lack of sidewalks and distracted motorists. Crashed involving pedestrians have increased over the past few years. In 2005, 454 pedestrians were hit my vehicles, 70 less times than 2011's 522 accidents. The states leader in pedestrian casualties, Mecklenburg County, saw 24 pedestrian deaths in 2011, a record for the county. If trends continue, we will surpass that record this year.

Mecklenburg saw over 3,500 wrecks involving pedestrians from 2005 - 2011. Of those, 130 were killed and 41 were reported by the Mint Hill Police Department.

City Council currently allocated $7.5 million each year in sidewalk projects. Charlotte currently has 8 programs established for sidewalk projects. An investigation is conducted after every wreck by the city to look for ways to improve safety at any given location.

A spokeswoman for the Charlotte Department of Transportation encouraged citizens to let the city know where safety improvements need to be made. By filing a petition with the CDOT, citizens can make a request for any kind up safety improvement.

CMPD Employs Latest Technology to Fight Crime

As of Monday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have implemented a new form of crime-fighting technology.

The system, called ShotSpotter, uses sensors placed on uptown buildings to pinpoint to precise location of shots fired within the city. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, the system can detect gunshots within a one mile radius and can be easily transported to other locations. ShotSpotter can not only determine where shots were fired, but also what kind of shots were fired as well as determine the difference between gunfire and firecrackers and other similar sounds.

Three to four sensors are placed within the I-277 loop, aimed at keeping Charlotte streets as safe as possible during the DNC, which takes place September 3-6.

City Council voted unanimously in July to try the new program. Charlotte will spend $50,000 to test the system for 1 year.

Police Use Smartphone App to Fight Crime

A new iPhone app allows New York City residents to notify police of crime and activity in their area.

The Brooklyn Quality of Life app works as a 2-way communication tool. Residents can send pictures or reports of crime as well as receive alerts on crime in the area. The information sent in from citizens is then screened by retired detectives to ensure anonymity of the informants. The screened information is then sent to police via a secured Facebook page.

Eric Adams, a New York State Senator and former police officer, initiated the design of the application. He worked together with Mobile App Depot, a designer of mobile apps for small businesses, who created the app for free as a public service.

The NYPD has not started working with the app yet and was not notified of its creation. Senator Adams says he will send the department an explanatory letter soon.

Brooklyn Quality of Life is supported by iPhone and Android operating systems. Android users can use the app now, while iPhone users will be able to use it in the coming weeks.

Firearm by Felons Gets Guns Off Charlotte Streets

In an effort to keep our city's streets as safe as possible, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police recently launched the Firearm by Felon program. Started in May of this year, the program targets convicted felons in possession of firearms. Firearm by Felon offers reward money for anonymous tips that lead to the recovery of illegal guns or the arrest of a felons with guns.

The program comes after statistics showed a rise in the number of felons arrested with guns.  In 2009 250 convicted felons were arrested with guns, as opposed to 319 last year. The ease with which felons can access firearms was disturbing to the department.  The theory is getting guns off the street will result in fewer armed robberies and other crimes associated with firearms, according to CMPD's Marty Cuthberson. 

Since the start of Firearm by Felon in May, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have recovered 12 guns and made seven arrests. By allowing members of the community to call in and work together with local law enforcement, Charlotte is a safer place to live.

The Firearm by Felon tip line is (704) 336-6000. Rewards of up to $500 are offered for information that leads to an arrest or recovery of guns.

A Crime Victim Tells her Story...

The following was written by a crime victim who experienced something this week that you'd never think would happen!

Unfortunately, the criminals are everywhere and they'll go to extreme measures to get what they want!!

I want to tell all of you about a horrible experience I had yesterday afternoon... I met a friend at 11:30 at Ilios Noche, a restaurant located on Providence Road near 485 in the Harris Teeter shopping center. As soon as lunch was over, around 12:30, I got in my truck and drove directly home. As I pulled in the driveway, I attempted to use my garage door opener which is always left on the visor but I couldn't find it.

I assumed, for the moment, that it had fallen out of the truck and then began looking for my cell phone which I couldn't seem to locate either. Then, it occurred to me that my car had been broken into and, sure enough, I got back out of the car to find that the lock assembly had been pried open and was broken. This same thing happened to me Christmas 2006 in the Kohl's parking lot in Pineville. So, needless to say, I was quite perturbed!

At the same time, I was thinking that this time wasn't so bad because I was smart enough not to leave my camera, petty cash, etc. in the car like last time. I immediately called my husband, who was traveling in Raleigh for the day. He told me that he had an extra key on his truck which was parked in the driveway and where it was located. By this time, several of my neighbors were with me, thank goodness.

I finally got the key from his truck, opened his door and got his remote garage door opener. As I opened the garage, I immediately noticed that the door was open leading into the house and the light was on. So, I'm now completely hysterical and panicking.

The people who had stolen my garage door opener way out near 485 had already been to my house, robbed it, shut the garage door back down and left! I went back to my truck, looked in the glove box and noticed that the registration was missing. So, clearly, they had GPS'd my address off the registration and drove directly out here..... all while I was having lunch with a friend. Of course, I called 911 and two policemen came to the house and pulled there weapons to search inside while my neighbors and I waited outside. Luckily, they were already gone.

Needless to say, it has been a very sleepless night. I'm rehearsing all the 'what-if's' in my head. My husband works out of the house and just happened to be gone yesterday. A lot of times, he doesn't answer the door if he's tied up on the phone. I'm sure if he had heard the garage open, he would have assumed it was me. In this case, it wasn't...

My husband actually mentioned to me last night that he still would have pulled in the driveway if he was on his way home even if he saws a strange vehicle sitting in the driveway. He would have assumed it was someone visiting me. My kids had a very tough time going to sleep last night, needless to say. As most of you know, we've already had a truck stolen from our driveway several years ago. They can't wrap their little minds around why people keep doing these things to us!

I'm sending this to you because we made some mistakes here at home. My door leading from the garage into the house was not locked and the alarm wasn't set. Maybe it would have made a difference, maybe not. After my car was broken into at Kohl's in 2006, I started taking our dog with me. He was with me yesterday and wasn't a deterrent. For those of you who know my dog, you know he's just a "looker"---all bark, no bite!

Ladies, PLEASE be careful and precautions out there. Clearly, I was being watched in that parking lot yesterday. As a result of this incident, we've had to suspend our checking account, etc., disable the garage doors and have a security company coming out today. Consider hiding your garage door openers or carrying them with you. Neighbors also need to be on their toes about whose coming and going. If you see something suspicious, jot down a license plate.

KNOW GANGS: CMPD Community Workshop

KNOW GANGS

A CMPD Community Workshop

Come to the two-part CMPD Community Workshop and find out what you need to know to protect our kids from gangs!

NOVEMBER 2, 2006

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Learn from the experts: CMPD Gang Intelligence Unit Sgt. Jeff Estes, Detectives Harold Jackson & Steve Parker, Gang of One Director Fran Cook

Topics Include:

- Understanding the gang culture

- How to identify gang members & symbols

- Find out what "tagging" is

- Explore the influences of music

- Get answers to your questions!

Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology
1430 Alleghany Street, Charlotte NC 28208

November 2nd & 9th: 7:00-8:30pm

Tonight: National Night Out

* Don't forget to turn your porch light on tonight!

National Night Out is a nationwide campaign to get people to turn on their porch lights and gather in their neighborhoods to promote crime prevention. Several Charlotte, NC neighborhoods are participating:

* The Villages of Back Creek: Includes Winding Creek, Arbor Ridge and Back Creek Forest. Annual party 7-10 p.m. with visits from politicians and public safety officials.

First Ward: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. @ First Ward recreation center: Dinner, games, prizes, fellowship.

* Fountaingrove and Arbor Hills: Residents in Fountaingrove and Arbor Hills will walk through both neighborhoods, then gather at 7 p.m. to hear from police and other speakers. Refreshments will follow. Website: More info

*Glenwater: Residents of Glenwater at University Place townhomes will meet at the pool 7-9 p.m. for face painting, karaoke, water games and door prizes. Planners hope police and Medic will visit. Bring a chair, cooler, a picnic, snacks to share and whatever else you need. It also doubles as the kickoff meeting for community watch block captains. For more details, contact Joe @704-277-5578.

* Hidden Valley: Neighbors will meet 5-8 p.m. at Tom Hunter Park, 919 Tom Hunter Road, for food and games for children, teens and adults. Residents can sign up for crime watch and the community association. For details, call Verona Vaughn @ 704-597-8344.

*Houston Hills: Residents will gather at the playground, near the entrance, from 6 to 9 p.m. Leaders have invited police and hope neighbors will get to know each other in this new neighborhood off Harris Houston Road.

* Mallard Forest: Neighbors are expanding activities this year to include adults, after a strong showing for their inaugural event last year. The 100-home community plans an egg race on a spoon, hula hoop, tug of war, relay races and other contests based on age. Residents should turn on their porch lights and meet at the entrance at 6 p.m. for a walk, with events to follow on Trimbach Way. It ends at 9 p.m.

*Mallard Ridge: Neighbors plan to walk through the neighborhood at 7 p.m. Website: More Info

* Montclaire Neighborhood Association: 6:30 p.m. – 9pm @ Madison Park (near Marion Diehl Recreation Center) Kids games, Music, Food

*Winterfield Neighborhood: Big block party Tuesday, August 1st, to commemorate this year's "National Night Out". The event takes place in the 3800 block of Driftwood Drive---hours are 6 to 8:30pm. Bring a covered dish to share (meat and soft drinks will be provided). Enjoy games, tattooing and street art. See and climb into fire and police department vehicles---and meet with community leaders and neighborhood police officers. The event is also hosted by Weed and Seed, the Eastway Police Department and NCCJ. For more information, call Tracy Perreault at 704.365.2620.

*Matthews, NC: The event is set for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Stumptown Park, on South Trade Street. It will be sponsored by the Matthews Police Department and Target. Police and community organizations will hold informational programs on personal safety, ID theft, bike safety and robbery prevention. Guest speakers will include crime prevention specialist Dan Starks, who appears on WCNC-TV (Channel 36). Special children's activities are planned, and a number of food vendors will be on hand.

*Union County, NC: Union County will host an event in Lake Park from 6 to 10 p.m. as part of National Night Out. Monroe, Waxhaw and Wingate also have events planned for the night. Union County's event will include activities for children, such as a climbing wall, booths with information and sign-ups, demonstrations from law enforcement officers and giveaways.

* Huntersville, NC: Northcross Shopping Center is the site of a city-wide observance, including food and games (5-7 pm)

* Concord/Cabarrus County: In the Concord area, events (mostly cookouts) are planned for these neighborhoods -- Brown Mill (4-7 p.m.); Gable Oaks (5:30-8:30 p.m.); Gibson Village (7:30 p.m.); Kiser Woods (6:30 p.m.); Logan (6-9 p.m.); Old South (6 p.m.); Silver Hill; and Underwood.

Join National Night Out!

Dozens of Charlotte, NC neighborhoods are making plans for National Night Out on Aug 1st. National Night Out is a nationwide campaign to get people to gather in their neighborhoods to promote crime prevention.

You can register your community on the national site. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are also taking registrations to track Charlotte events and send officers to visit. Sometimes politicians will stop by, too. Deadline is July 26. To get a form: Call 704-336-2310 or E-mail: hkimbell1@cmpd.org

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:
-Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
-Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs.
-Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships.
-Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Charlotte Crime Stoppers

Have information about a crime? See something you think is suspicious? If so, NOW is the time to contact Charlotte Crime Stoppers. CrimeStoppers is a 24-hour tip line that is completely anonymous. You could even receive a cash reward for a good tip!

Call (704) 334-1600 or send an e-mail to: Crime Stoppers.

Help make Charlotte, NC a better place to live. Take a stand on crime and let's put criminals where they belong- behind bars!

Charlotte Neighborhood Watch

Is your community or neighborhood part of Charlotte's Neighborhood Watch program? If not, you should consider getting one started.

A Neighborhood/Apartment Watch is a proven way to prevent crime. Many crimes in Charlotte have been solved and prevented by people who are members of a community watch. The police cannot be everywhere and extra eyes and ears never hurt.

A neighborhood watch is also a good way to meet your neighbors and organize community events- block parties, clean-ups, yard sales, etc.

Local Crime Watches:
McAlpine Tennille Neighborhood Watch
Country Club Heights Crime Watch
Cabarrus County Neighborhood Watch
Windsor Park Community Watch
Plaza-Midwood Community Watch

Community Watch Info:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Watch
How to Establish a Community Watch
CharMeck neighborhood Watch Chairperson Handbook
Sample Form: Community Evaluation
Sample Form: Report suspicious Activities
Sample Form: Meeting Agenda
Sample Form: Safety Questionnaire
Prevent Crime- Info on Neighborhood Watch

Crackdown on 'Cruising'

Police began patrols on Friday night to crack down on "cruising" in the entertainment district along North Tryon Street. Between Friday and Saturday, police arrested 36 people, issued nearly 100 citations and confiscated many handguns and weapons. They also located three robbery suspects at random.


Cruising Crackdown Results:

FRIDAY: Arrested: 8 ~ Citations: 30 ~ Warnings: 1
SATURDAY: Arrested: 16 ~ Citations: 73 ~ Warnings: 8

Police have considered shutting down Tryon Street after midnight to prevent cruising, but have not had to resort to that yet. Cruising becomes a problem when school is out every summer. Cars drive at slow speeds and sometimes yell or throw things at pedestrians. Police will continue their patrols for the rest of this and next weekend. Then they will evaluate how the program is going and make changes if necessary.

13 New DA's in Mecklenburg County

Mecklenburg County is seriously lacking prosecutors and the district attorney's office has been understaffed for years. This year, The DA asked for 26 new prosecutors to handle the workload and the legislature responded with 13. As it is now, the majority of criminal cases are dismissed or plead down because of the lack of prosecutors. This is ridiculous & we need to let our elected officials know.

WCNC interviewed Mecklenburg County District Attorney Peter Gilchrist, who said, "Well it’s a great start. “I think all of us are very appreciative of what our legislators did for us."

Gilchrist has lobbied for more help for years, but with such a large backlog of prisoners, the added help may not equal fewer plea bargains. As critical as the need is right now- the new prosecutors won’t be hired until January of next year.

Move Over for Emergency Vehicles!

It is always surprising to me to see the amount of people who do not move over when they see flashing lights from police, medic or fire trucks. What if these emergency vehicles were responding to your house or to rescue someone you love? Sometimes, in an emergency situation, every minute counts! To think your loved one died because Medic couldn't get there fast enough- with people not pulling over & delaying their response should really make you want to pull over.

Starting today, if you don't move over and give emergency vehicles more room on the road- you will face a hefty fine. The "move over law" has been on the books since 2002, but starting today, violators will face much stiffer penalties.

Fines for violating the move over law jumped from $25 to $250 plus $100 court costs. Violations will also add driver's license and insurance points.

Warning: Shut Your Garage Door!

Warning: Close your garage door when you are not in visible sight of it! This post is prompted by one of my friends getting robbed tonight. She lives on the University side of Charlotte in a nice residential neighborhood. In the early evening, she and her family were outside doing yard work so they had opened their garage door.

At the same time, a young black man was busy robbing her garage and two other homes in her neighborhood who had open garage doors. In all three robberies- the homeowners were home when they were robbed and this happened in broad daylight.

The suspect was driving a stolen vehicle which he left running in front of my friends house. He then stole the next door neighbors car, loaded it up with the power tools and my friends car stereo and moved on. I'm not sure if police know if the other robberies were committed by the same person or a 'pack' of robbers but the Crime Scene Investigators responded.

To me, the worst part of this is how the neighbor across the street from my friend saw the whole thing happen! She is an older lady who DID NOT call the police. She claims she was scared!! She did not even call my friend to tell her she was watching her get robbed or that she saw something suspicious happening. Some neighbor!!

Neighbors need to band together to watch out for each other to eliminate these kinds of theft from their neighborhoods completely. If you see suspicious activity-- CALL THE POLICE or at least call your neighbor and let them call if you are "scared." Does your community have a neighborhood watch?? If not, you should consider starting one! Neighbors helping neighbors fight crime is a huge theft deterrent.

Charlotte's Police Force Increasing

The Charlotte City Council pushed through a tax increase of four cents per $100 of property value in Charlotte. The increase is enough to pay for 58 new uniformed police officers and 12 detectives.
6NEWS spoke with a police department spokesperson Tuesday and they provided a breakdown of whom these officers are and what they will be doing:
•12- new street crimes task force officers
•15- new response area officers
•3- investigators for cyber crimes
•3- investigators for auto theft
•2- investigators for domestic violence
•31- will be community coordinators who will be working with neighborhoods to reduce crime ahead of time.

There will be one street crimes task force officer for each of the city's 12 patrol divisions and two community officers for each division. The North Division will get three extra area officers. Freedom, South and the Steele Creek Division will each get two extra officers. Police spokesperson Officer Mandy Giannini said the additions would mean “police would have more contact with the community leaders, so they can find out what the issues are that face their communities." Public safety officers will also get a three percent pay raise.

Getting new police officers in Charlotte is great BUT now we need to see some change in how the criminals are handled once they are arrested and charged! Having more police officers on the street doesn't help prosecute the cases or make more room in the jail! If anything, we will see more arrests and more plea deals and backlog on the court side! Speak up Charlotteans!