CMPD makes its case for teen curfew change as tool to ‘keep our youth safe’
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Wednesday focused on “teen takeovers” gaining popularity across the U.S. during its midyear review of crime data.
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CMPD Chief Estella D. Patterson spoke with local media on their solutions to teen takeovers, the results of what they’ve described as “proactive” policing with minors, and how CMPD is working to prevent future teen takeovers from leading to further teenage crime, all while coinciding with some rising crime statistics.
“When the school bell rings for the last time, Charlotte’s youth are handed two things that they desire the most,” Chief Patterson said. “That’s freedom, and that’s time. And without the structure of the classroom, young people gain mobility, and they also gain exposure to situations that can pull them off course.”
The news conference came one day after CMPD proposed changes to the city’s juvenile curfew. Changes include raising the age limit to include teens under 18. So far, 28 teens have committed juvenile offenses, with seven parents being charged with citations, according to the 2026 Midyear Public Safety Report.
The proposal also sets a 9 p.m. curfew, which Patterson said she would like approved “as quickly as possible.”
“I firmly believe a change in the curfew time will help keep our youth safe, and will add to the successes we have seen in working with our youth population,” Patterson said.
CMPD and other county officials have also been working to prevent Teen Takeovers by establishing teen-centered events, such as their weekly “Teen Summer Jam,” in partnership with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and Mecklenburg County government.
“I hear people say all the time, ‘kids are just going to be kids,’ ‘they’re only doing this because there’s nothing else to do,’ ‘they don’t have safe spaces to go,’ and various things like that,” Patterson said. “To everyone that says that: I hear you, and I’m here with you as well.”
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Two CMPD units working across Charlotte to identify Teen Takeovers are the Juvenile Accountability and Diversion Empowerment and the Juvenile Priority Offender Strategy Team. Both units identify teens and children out past curfew while working alongside parents to prevent teen-related crimes.
CMPD said those efforts have led to a 15% decrease in teens named as suspects in criminal incidents compared with last year’s report.
But there’s been an increase in teens with firearms — from 31 between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2025, to 49 so far this year.
“Whereas once upon a time that would escalate into a street fight, the reality is now that kids are looking for a more impactful way to fend themselves or to assert their opinions on things,” CMPD Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said. “And the reality is sometimes that turns into firearms.”
Other notable statistics from CMPD’s midyear data includes a 3% increase in homicides, with 40 so far this year, which is up from 39 over the same time period last year.
“In the past couple days, we’ve seen an uptick in homicides and murders, but I want the public to know that we are using every resource we can to identify the suspects in those cases,” Patterson said.
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Other notable data include:
