Mecklenburg County, NC

Summary

Mecklenburg County is the most populous county in North Carolina, whose county seat and principal city is Charlotte. The jurisdiction is engaged in several collaborations aimed at improving the local criminal justice system. Since implementing evidence-based practices, such as using risk-based rather than charge-based release decisions, Mecklenburg County has succeeded in significantly reducing its jail population. 

In 2017, Mecklenburg County was awarded $2 million from the MacArthur Foundation as part of the Safety and Justice Challenge to help support the county’s efforts to develop and implement strategies capable of positively impacting the main drivers of the local jail population.

To continue reducing the jail population safely, the county plans to implement new strategies capable of enhancing existing services, expanding the utilization of non-jail alternatives for low-risk defendants, and increasing the community’s involvement in the process of local justice system reform. This will include enhancing services provided to defendants pretrial, improving current bail policy, and partnering with community residents to identify and implement community-led programs and policy interventions.

Lead Agency

Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services

Partners

County Manager’s Office, Office of District Court Judges, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Chief Magistrate’s Office, Clerk of Superior Court, Sheriff’s Office, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, and law enforcement agencies in the Towns of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Mint Hill, and Matthews.

Population Size

1,054,000

Jail Capacity

2,945

  • Between 2014 and 2017, Mecklenburg County reduced its jail population by 11%. While these numbers are worthy of celebrating, Mecklenburg County’s Department of Criminal Justice Services continues to search for ways to reduce the use of incarceration for low-risk, non-violent defendants.
  • Too often, a jail stay depends on an ability to pay. As a result, many individuals spend time in jail awaiting trial because they cannot afford bail or other fines and fees.
  • For example:

    —Pretrial release and length of stay are main drivers of the jail population. The average pretrial population alone was 64% of the total average daily jail population in 2016.
    —Despite making up approximately 33% of the local population, African Americans and Hispanics account for approximately 76% of the jail population (as of April-June 2017).
    —In 2016, the County released 36% of booked defendants on financial bond, and 35% in 2017 (to date). Automating the completion of the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) tool will help ensure that judicial officials are able to access each defendant’s individualized assessment of risk when determining their conditions of release.
  • Implement new strategies designed to enhance existing services and activities, such as the provision of non-jail alternatives for low-risk offenders, and enhance community engagement in the process of local justice system reform.
  • Expand pre-arrest and pre-trial diversion strategies for low-level, nonviolent defendants.
  • Partner with residents to identify and implement community-led programs and policy interventions.
  • Develop and implement a workforce development curriculum focused on implicit bias and its corresponding impact on disproportionate criminal justice outcomes among minority and majority populations.
  • Improve case processing procedures and reduce time to disposition.

Supported with $2 million from the Safety and Justice Challenge, Mecklenburg County will implement forward-looking, smart solutions to further reduce the local jail population by 13% over the next two years.

Latest

News

"How One North Carolina County Is Keeping Down Its Jail Population" —Route Fifty

“The county, which includes Charlotte, realized many of the people booked shouldn’t have been in jail in the first place, said District Court Judge Elizabeth Trosch, which developed a risk-assessment tool for predicting the likelihood of failures to appear.”

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News

"Mecklenburg County Awarded $2M Grant to Reduce Jail Population" —WCNC

“Mecklenburg County has to date in 2017 an average daily jail population of 1,611. The hope of foundation is to avoid an increase in the population to prevent overpopulation from becoming a serious problem.”

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News

"A County in North Carolina Wants to Give its Bail System a Serious Makeover" —In Justice Today

“Last week, the MacArthur Foundation rewarded a $2 million grant to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, as part of an effort to reform aspects of its criminal justice system. The grant calls for a focus on the county’s bail system, which

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News

"Mecklenburg County Receives $2 Million Grant to Reduce Jail Population" -Charlotte Stories

“The grant was given as part of the national Safety and Justice Challenge, a $100+ million initiative to reduce jail populations by changing the way our country thinks about and uses jails.”

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News

WSOC TV - Meck Co jail to receive $150K from MacArthur Foundation

“The Mecklenburg County jail will receive a $150,000 grant to come up with ways to reduce the number of people unnecessarily behind bars. It is part of a new safety and justice challenge across the country to improve local criminal justice

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Safety & Justice Challenge

Mecklenburg County Fact Sheet

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