Law enforcement leaders outline six-month plan as concerns emerge over intelligence sharing, inconsistent reporting, and lack of statewide gang training
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By Annie Dance | Lake Lure News | Cops & Congress | News & Commentary
RALEIGH, N.C. — Members of North Carolina’s Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force subcommittee on enforcement, intelligence, and interagency coordination laid out a six-month roadmap Tuesday while surfacing persistent gaps in data, training, and statewide coordination.
The April 28 public meeting marked a shift from broad discussion to structured planning, with officials agreeing to sequence future meetings around five core focus areas: gang validation, strategic enforcement, data collection and sharing, risk assessment, and communication and coordination.
Here are the top ten takeaways from the meeting:
1. A Structured Six-Month Plan Takes Shape
The subcommittee agreed to a month-by-month framework, beginning with gang validation and progressing through enforcement, data, and coordination topics. The goal is to produce formal policy recommendations for state leadership.
2. Gang Validation Comes First
Officials identified gang validation—how individuals are classified as gang members—as the most immediate and actionable topic, citing existing in-house expertise and inconsistencies across agencies.
3. Major Gaps in Data Collection Identified
Participants acknowledged significant weaknesses in how gang-related data is collected and reported, particularly through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Inconsistent reporting by officers and agencies limits the reliability of statewide crime data.
4. “If It’s Not Documented, It Didn’t Happen”
Law enforcement officials emphasized that underreporting remains a systemic issue. Without consistent documentation—whether through reports, field contacts, or body camera footage—gang activity may go untracked.
5. Intelligence Sharing Still Fragmented
The group pointed to ongoing challenges in how intelligence is shared between agencies, despite tools like fusion centers and regional information-sharing systems. Identifying “where the gaps are” in intelligence flow was a central question.
6. Lack of Standardized Gang Training
One of the most direct concerns raised: there is no uniform requirement for gang recognition or investigative training across law enforcement agencies. Some participants suggested even basic annual training could improve identification and reporting.
7. Leadership Buy-In Seen as Critical
Officials noted that agency heads—police chiefs and sheriffs—must be engaged directly for reforms to take hold. Suggestions included presenting findings at statewide law enforcement conferences to drive top-down implementation.
8. Victims and Families May Be Included in Future Discussions
The subcommittee expanded its scope beyond law enforcement voices, proposing to include victims and families affected by gang violence to better understand community impact.
9. Looking Beyond North Carolina for Solutions
Members discussed studying other states’ gang task forces and policies, as well as leveraging federal partnerships like FBI Safe Streets Task Forces, to identify best practices.
10. Old Recommendations Seen as Too Limited
Participants revisited a 2012 task force report that produced just three enforcement recommendations, including adding federal prosecutors and expanding gang training. Members agreed the current effort must be broader, more detailed, and implementation-focused.
The subcommittee operates under the broader Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force established by executive order by Governor Josh Stein in August 2025 to address rising juvenile gang involvement and coordinate statewide prevention strategies. It first met in October 2025 and meets every other month.
While officials emphasized collaboration and forward momentum, the discussion revealed a system still grappling with foundational challenges—particularly around data accuracy, training standards, and interagency coordination.
The larger main committee said they can’t “end” or “dissolve” gang participation at their March meeting (part 1 / part 2), but can work to “promote positive behavior change” when they released a report.
The group plans to reconvene next month, beginning with a deep dive into gang validation practices and using expert testimony to guide formal recommendations.
As one participant noted, the effectiveness of any strategy will ultimately depend on execution: identifying gaps is only the first step—closing them is the real test.
The subcommittees will continue meeting over the coming months before making formal recommendations to Governor Stein’s office.
Another report on gangs was first released 14 years ago, in 2012, by then-Governor Beverly Perdue. It’s unclear what exact, if any, implementations recommended then have been made statewide during that time.
Then-Attorney General Roy Cooper was on the task force but had a designee attend in his place, public records show. Cooper, a Democrat and former governor, is running for U.S. Senate against Republican Michael Whatley.
ICYMI
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🏛️ All those mentioned are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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