Charlotte ranked 50 out of 50 in Economic Mobility

A 2014 study by Harvard University and UC Berkeley ranked the Charlotte area 50th out of 50 cities for economic mobility. The probability that a child born into the bottom fifth of incomes here will rise to the top fifth in her lifetime is just 4.4%.

6 year olds Adjudicated as Delinquent in North Carolina

In North Carolina, 6 years old is the minimum age at which a child can be adjudicated as delinquent. This is the lowest set age of criminal responsibility in the United States. At the state level, 33 states currently have no minimum age set of criminal responsibility.

59% Black Males Dropped out of CMS in 2011-2012

According to the Schott Foundation: Black Boys Report, 59% of black males dropped out of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System in the 2011-2012 school year*.

*last year data was compiled

16 year olds Can be Tried as an Adult

At 16 years old if you are alleged to have committed a crime you can be heard in adult court. However, in 2017, North Carolina became the final state to “raise the age” for nonviolent offense to 18 years old not in effect until 2019.

79% of Youth in Juvenile Facilities are Black Males

According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), 79% of all youth living in a facility provided by North Carolina are black male youth (2015). This means for every 468 youth that are incarcerated, 315 of the incarcerated youth were black males.

8 Convictions by 33 years old

A random sample (n=400) of all prisoners released to Mecklenburg County between 9/1/09 and 12/31/11 were predominantly male (94%) and black (76%). Their average age was 33. On average, an offender had eight previous convictions.