Is Charlotte less safe than other cities?

I am so accustomed to talking with newcomers who are thrilled to be in Charlotte that my recent conversation with a Manhattan transplant shocked me.

“I have felt more unsafe here than anywhere I’ve ever lived,” she said. “I think Charlotte has a dark underbelly that not many people talk about.”

The conversation was triggered by discussion of the mysterious case of Kyle Fleischmann, who left an uptown bar alone, without any money, and vanished. His story has resonated because most people I know have a story involving drinking a little too much and losing track of one or two of the friends we went out with. His disappearance has many of us imagining the worst.

There are other reasons my friend feels unsafe. A frightening spate of random robberies has been making news. Women walking alone uptown or in center-city neighborhoods are often bothered by aggressive panhandlers. Crime rates have seesawed here.

But this is my home, and I have always felt fundamentally safe, so long as I took common-sense precautions. I don’t walk alone at night unless I’m in a well-lit, highly-populated area. I use my burglar alarm consistently. I always make sure my cell phone is charged before I go out and I make sure someone knows where I am.

Charlotte isn’t much more dangerous than similar-sized cities. Most violent crimes here, as with most other places, occur between people who know each other. The crime I am most likely to become a victim of is a car break-in. (Please, don’t leave stuff out visibly in your car!)

I also believe that as far as the center city goes, things will get much better – and soon. As each new condo tower opens, it sends a new batch of people out to walk the streets at all hours. So the chances of finding yourself in a frightening situation will diminish.

Last night I was at the Police concert. It was a thrilling feeling to be among the 15,000 people leaving Bobcats Arena all at once – all pumped up from a great show, filling uptown streets. Many of us poured into nearby bars and restaurants – I ended up at Brixx – for a post-show snack and drink.

This scene is repeated anytime there’s a big show at the arena, but I’m hoping that our uptown is developing enough that those kinds of crowds will be commonplace whether or not a special event has brought them there.

Transplants, do you agree with my friend or do you feel safer here than other places? What can be done to improve Charlotte’s sense of safety?