Exclusive: NC Gang Prevention Task Force Opens With Misstep on Public Transparency

North Carolina’s new Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force held its first Prevention Working Group meeting Tuesday morning — and it opened with a misunderstanding of the state’s public meeting laws.

At the start of the virtual session, Chair Kevin Blackburn told members the group should follow the “Vegas rule." He said, “Obviously, what we say here stays here, but what we learn, we want to take away with us.”

That is not how public meetings work in North Carolina. Under state law, any meeting of an official public body must be open, accessible, and reportable. And on Tuesday, this reporter was the only member of the media present to document what was said. 

The task force was created by Gov. Josh Stein in August by executive order and seated under the Governor’s Crime Commission. Department of Adult Correction Secretary Leslie Dismukes and Office of Violence Prevention Director Siarra Scott serve as co-chairs. The 20-member panel includes law enforcement, school officials, public health experts, community organizations and people with firsthand experience with gang violence.

The governor is also tasking it with identifying proven violence prevention efforts to keep North Carolina families safe. It brings together law enforcement, education leaders, legal representatives, mental health and substance use organizations, and people who have successfully left gangs.

Despite the rocky start, the meeting quickly shifted to substance and urgency. “Our kids can’t wait,” one member warned, pointing to the increase in juvenile crime across North Carolina.

What members emphasized

• Youth must have real influence. Participants stressed that young people should help shape solutions, not serve as token advisors.

• Families are stretched thin. Speakers described parents juggling multiple jobs and multiple agencies — often overwhelmed before help even arrives.

• Economic instability fuels risk. Housing insecurity, low wages and transportation gaps were repeatedly cited as drivers of vulnerability.

• Outreach must start early. Members argued that prevention should begin in elementary schools to “beat the gangs to the kids.”

• Coordination over silos. With funding tight and needs high, members pushed for collaboration instead of fragmented programs.

Some attendees voiced frustration with years of conversations that never translate into real change.

“I’ve had enough of conversations that go nowhere,” one veteran youth-services provider said. “It’s time to actually accomplish something.” 

“We’ve put together a very well-rounded, interdisciplinary task force with leaders from many different backgrounds and areas of expertise,” Scott said in October. “I am looking forward to getting these great minds together to think critically about how, collectively, we can holistically and sustainably address gang violence in our state.”  

The Prevention Working Group will continue meeting over the coming months before making formal recommendations to the Governor’s Crime Commission.