Charlotte activists are calling for City Council to convene a homicide task force to deal with a spike in deadly confrontations.

SAFE Coalition NC, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP and Action NC are requesting formation of the task force, which was last formed 12 years ago.
“It is our belief that the previous Homicide Task Force established in 2005 aided in decreasing the total number of homicides in the following years,” SAFE Coalition NC organizer Robert Dawkins said in an email to council members.

The activists want:

• City Manager Marcus Jones and the Community Safety Committee to review recommendations made by the previous task force and report on recommendations that were instituted and how the suggestions could stem the homicide rate, which stands at 66. Sixty-seven homicides were recorded in 2016. The record is 129 in 1993 at the height of the national crack epidemic.

• A study of methodologies used to reduce violent crime in major cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and New York as well as greater collaboration with community stakeholders and police to craft Charlotte-based solutions.
Council member Julie Eiselt said she supports reviewing the 2005 task force’s work before reconstituting a new one.

“The murder rate prior to the task force formation was 85 homicides in the prior year,” she wrote in an email exchange with Dawkins and NAACP President the Rev. Corine Mack. “The murder rate declined after the task force work, as did crime overall. I would like to have a fresh look at the 2005 recommendations and analyze what worked, what didn't work and which when nations or not taken up before we start fresh with a new task force.

“In addition, in 2008 the County convened a task force around our local criminal justice system. Again, some recommendations were implemented and some were not including the very first recommendation.

“It would be a worthwhile endeavor to look at both of the reports and sets of recommendations to determine what could be done. It might be that members of those taskforces would still be willing to help with this work. I believe this could expedite finding solutions.”

Mack urged a fresh approach, considering changes in Charlotte’s leadership and police/civilian relationship since 2005.

“We are in a different time in this city,” she wrote in the exchange. “Convening the same task force from a decade ago will probably get a negative response from grassroots organizers who already lack trust for city leaders. I believe there is a definite need to look into several taskforce models coupled with holistic conflict resolution and harm free zone trainings.

The rising death rate is a critical concern that needs a rapid, tangible and collaborative response.”
Dawkins suggested crime and public safety – and the city’s response – will be a political issue during the municipal election season.

“During this election year, our organizations are looking for leadership from our Mayor and City Council,” he said. “The constant loss of life from gun violence, domestic violence, gang violence and the inability to resolve conflicts must be prioritized in a similar manner as the city's commitment to police accountability, affordable housing and job creation.

“We are prepared to make the rising homicide rate part of our non partisan Get Out the Vote effort and desire to know what the city plans to do about this seemingly uncontrollable rise in homicides immediately.”

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