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Charlotte is facing a chilling surge in human trafficking, with local task force data showing a 76 percent increase in cases involving minors from 2020 to 2024. Authorities identified more than 100 minors as confirmed or suspected victims last year, and nearly half of reported trafficking incidents involved children 15 or younger, a statistic that should unsettle every parent and policymaker.
These numbers are not abstract — they represent real children being groomed online, coerced into sex work or forced labor in neighborhoods across the city. Experts and rescue organizations point to digital grooming, exploitation in residence-based commercial sex and domestic work, and a rise in organized criminal networks as the methods driving this wave.
The circumstances creating this “perfect storm” are predictable: sprawling interstate highways that facilitate movement, persistent gang activity, and a strained public safety infrastructure that leaves investigators chasing backlogs instead of dismantling rings. This is what happens when cities prioritize ideology over enforcement and fail to give law enforcement the resources and clear mandates they need to root out predators.
Charlotte’s broader crime trends underscore the urgency — juvenile property crime and vehicle thefts have soared, stretching police capacity thin and creating openings for traffickers to operate with impunity. When local officials favor soft-on-crime approaches and rhetoric over decisive action, the weakest members of our community pay the price.
Tough, common-sense responses are required: prioritize prosecutions of traffickers and their networks, fund specialized anti-trafficking units, and clamp down on the online platforms traffickers exploit while respecting civil liberties. At the same time, community groups, churches, and families must be empowered with the tools and information to spot grooming and intervene early; prevention starts long before a case winds up in a court file.
There is no higher duty for elected officials than protecting children, and local leaders must be judged by whether they act to stop this scourge or merely offer condolences after the fact. Bold action, clear priorities, and accountability will be needed to turn these statistics around — anything less is a failure to defend the most vulnerable among us.
