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Task force adopts North Carolina gang definition, sets phased timeline for recommendations
Summary
A governor-appointed task force agreed to use North Carolinas statutory definition of gangs as the working definition for its recommendations and reviewed a condensed timeline that pairs recommendation development with prioritization and aims for recommendation drafts by November and implementation planning in early 2027.
Chair opened the meeting and told members the task forces draft annual report is due to the governor by the end of the month and asked for members feedback on structure and content.
The task force agreed to operate using the North Carolina statutory definition of a gang. Chair said the group would "operate, with the North Carolina definition," and a member who helped draft the state definition confirmed the omission of language about creating an "atmosphere of fear" was deliberate.
Why it matters: adopting a single, codified definition sets the scope for the task forces recommendations and affects how prevention, intervention and enforcement strategies will be written and evaluated. Director Scott reviewed the report framework, which the task force described to members as largely background at this stage (membership, work-group formation and early activities) and not yet rich in final recommendations.
Timeline and next steps: Director Scott outlined a phased plan the task force will follow: an initial infrastructure-building phase, a recommendation-development phase, and a prioritization/implementation planning phase. Chair said conversations with the governors office favor combining recommendation development and prioritization so task force members can develop and prioritize recommendations concurrently. The group expects to have recommendations from the work groups by November and to begin implementation planning in early 2027.
Members also proposed small wording changes to the intervention section of the draft report: one professor recommended replacing language that said the intervention work group "aims to reduce or end gang participation" with wording that focuses on reducing individual gang participation and promoting "positive behavioral change" or "gang disassociation." The group agreed to adjust the draft language to avoid implying the unrealistic goal of eliminating all gang participation statewide.
Whats next: staff will incorporate the suggested edits, finalize appendices after the meeting and circulate an updated draft before the reports submission deadline to the governor's office.
