New report shows increase in violent crime in Huntersville

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A new report shows there was a rise in violent crime in Huntersville in 2018.

In the report to the mayor and town board, data shows violent crime in the city jumped 11 percent, which included four murders.

[LINK: Huntersville crime report]

The number of reported rapes more than tripled from the four in 2017 to 13 last year. However, the report showed a drop in robberies and aggravated assaults.

Residents who have lived in Huntersville for at least 10 years told Channel 9 they haven’t noticed any significant change to their personal safety.

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"I've been walking down the street at night, no worries for me,” Huntersville resident Anthony Rondina said.

"I haven't really noticed anything out of the ordinary,” said Huntersville resident Denise Maffia.

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Some residents say more violent crimes aren't necessarily a cause for alarm.

"If crime rates are up, I think it just has to do with the climate and what's going on in the country,” Maffia said.

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"I don't think it’s a trend. I just think it's individual situations,” Rondina said.

Huntersville only had four homicides in 2018, compared to the 56 homicides in Charlotte.

Daniel Phillips, a Huntersville town commissioner, said the crime correlation has a lot to do with population growth.

"As the town grows, I think we're going to see our violent crimes may go up statistical-wise, but still, in relative numbers overall, our crime rate is down,” Phillips said.

Phillips said he's confident that police will do their jobs and make adjustments when necessary

"There's all kind of changes we'll see coming forward with the police department, fire department and all,” he said.

Huntersville Interim Chief Bence Hoyle told Channel 9's Briana Harper he hopes this is a one year off and not a trend.

He said they are actively looking for any factors to pinpoint in these violent crime increases.

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