Over the last decade, murder rates rose in North Carolina, while the rate of murders resulting in a suspect being charged fell by nearly half. Crime, particularly murders, disproportionately impacts low-income, black communities, with blacks in North Carolina being six times as likely to be murdered as whites.
Proactive, intensive community policing has a proven track record of reducing violent crime, as detailed in this new report from Locke.
Unfortunately, the communities that need intensive community policing the most are generally the ones that can least afford it.
For that reason, solving North Carolina’s crime problem will probably require supplemental police funding from the state. Funding priorities should include:
Hiring more police officers
Paying them higher salaries
Providing them with state-of-the-art training and support
Deploying them to act as peacekeepers in high-crime, high-disorder neighborhoods
North Carolinians deserve a public safety policy that is equal parts sober and effective. Fewer euphemisms, more officers. Fewer press releases, more patrols. Less drift, more deterrence.
To borrow from a certain English philosopher beloved by the founders: “government’s first purpose is to secure our rights”. In practice, that starts with a cop on the corner.
You can read more from Locke about crime and public safety here, here, and here.
Esse quam videri,
Donald Bryson
CEO
John Locke Foundation
Check out our NEW PODCAST, “Revolutionary Roads,” to hear from experts on North Carolina’s pivotal role in our nation’s founding.
All ten episodes will be available before Thanksgiving, so be sure to check in regularly for new episodes!
As 2026 approaches, there is a renewed effort to spotlight North Carolina's vital role in the American Revolution.
PBS North Carolina aired on Oct. 30, with filmmaker Ken Burns, co-director of a new six-part documentary, "The American Revolution", discussing North Carolina's part in the War for Independence
The full documentary series is scheduled to premiere on PBS starting November 16.
Additionally, Locke has also launched a 10-episode podcast, "Revolutionary Roads," to educate North Carolinians about the importance of the American Revolution and highlight the role of everyday colonists in the state's founding.
Hosted by Locke President and CEO Donald Bryson, it features experts discussing key questions such as: the myth/reality of the Mecklenburg Declaration, the Edenton Tea Party, and North Carolina's slow ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
The podcast is available on Locke's website, YouTube channel, and all major podcast platforms.
Duke Energy's latest Carolinas Resource Plan filing (Oct. 1, 2025) reflects significant changes in North Carolina's energy environment, primarily the repeal of the Carbon Plan's interim goal (via SB 266) and projected growth from data centers.
The repeal of the interim emissions goal led to planning for significantly more reliable, baseload-capable generation.
Planned capacity increased by 100% for combined cycle and 36.7% for combustion turbine plants (a net increase of 5,200 MW).
Planned advanced nuclear capacity increased by 39.6% (950 MW).
The plan delays the retirement of the final 2,220 MW of coal capacity by six years (until 2040), a crucial move for reliability, as coal resources have proven essential for staving off outages during peak demand.
Despite increases in reliable generation, the planned resource mix by 2040 will still be dominated by intermittent resources, leading to heightened risks and costs.
By 2040, the grid capacity would be 25.8% solar (a near quadrupling of capacity) and 12.7% batteries (a massive increase from 0.2% in 2026).
Natural gas and nuclear capacity combined will only increase by 59%, a "relatively modest" gain compared to the growth of intermittent capacity.
This continued over-reliance on intermittent energy means North Carolina still faces heightened reliability risks, daunting cost impacts, and farmland loss
The North Carolina General Assembly approved a new congressional map on October 21, engaging in a mid-decade redistricting effort to boost Republicans ahead of the 2026 election.
This change is expected to result in Republicans being advantaged in 11 of the state's 14 congressional districts.
This unnecessary mid-decade gerrymander is a clear sign that North Carolina must implement meaningful redistricting reform before the next reapportionment in 2031, including:
Keeping a strong legislative role in selecting commission members and approving the maps they draw (Hybrid Commission model).
Mandating fully bipartisan selection of commission members and decision-making processes.
Amending the state constitution to:
Incorporate the county grouping system (from Stephenson v. Bartlett).
Require districts to be "as reasonably compact as practicable."
Ban the use of partisan data (voter registration, past election results, etc.) when drawing districts.
Passing constitutional reform now would be an "insurance policy" for Republicans, as
Losing control of the state legislature and the state Supreme Court could allow Democrats to impose an extreme gerrymander for their benefit in the future.
