Goal: A more efficient Community Relations Committee

HERBERT L. WHITE | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee executive director Willie Ratchford

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee outlined its three-year plan for “disruption, growth and stabilization” during their annual retreat.

In its most recent newsletter, CRC explained it has restructured into three subcommittees: Community and Cultural Engagement, Community Liaison Representative, and Public Relations. These subcommittees are narrowed from seven.

CRC executive director Willie Ratchford said allowing the committee’s 45 community members to work in three groups instead of seven is a more efficient strategy.

“As my mother said before her passing, ‘with many hands the work becomes easy,’” he said. Committee members serve for three-year terms.

For its first year, the committee would focus on evaluating strategies, “assessing and rebuilding.” In the second year, it will focus on increasing engagement in Charlotte and partnerships with a “community talk series.”

Lastly, the committee will focus on “100-percent retention and leadership transition.”

The Community and Cultural Engagement subcommittee has highlighted “honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through meaningful events and discussions” as one of its goals, as well as “promoting dialogue and activities that enhance police-community relations.”

“The relationships between the community and the police are good, however we don’t hear about those good relationships; we only hear about the things that may be troublesome to some folk,” Ratchford said. The CRC annually facilitates an awards program where residents can nominate Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers. The CRC also hosts an annual MLK Day celebration.

The Community Liaison Representative is responsible for overseeing four broad divisions: Community Affairs, Fair Housing and the Nondiscrimination Ordinance, Americans with Disabilities Act Program, and the Dispute Settlement Program.

The Public Relations subcommittee’s goals aim to “emphasize youth violence protection and empowerment” and “enhance police relations to build trust and understanding between law enforcement and the community.”

Although CMPD reported that violent crime decreased in the first quarter of 2024, overall crime and crime involving minors has been on the rise. In April, the agency reported that juvenile suspects were responsible for 21 total shootings, a rise of 42%.

“The number of juveniles involved in our crime stats is astonishing,” CMPD Chief Jonny Jennings said. “Juveniles are committing violent and property crime in our city with little to no consequence or accountability.”
Ratchford said youth violence stems from a lack of conflict resolution skills, which the CRC teaches in collaboration with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

“Our sense is that one of the reasons we may have youth violence going on is that young people don’t know how to manage the conflicts in their lives,” he said, adding the conflict resolution has been among CRC’s goals for “45 years.

“This is stuff we’ve been doing for a long time.”

Comments