Crime task force holds first meeting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A 14-member panel appointed in the wake of a public outcry on crime met for the first time Wednesday. 

Members of the Justice and Safety Task Force were selected by Mecklenburg County Commissioners and include a former judge and a former FBI agent.

The non-partisan board was formed after dozens of crime victims and neighbors filled the Mecklenburg County Government Center this spring and demanded changes to the criminal justice system.

Rivana Stadtlander, a member of Citizens for a Safer Charlotte, the group that spearheaded the earlier protests, was appointed to the task force.

“I see that a lot of good can come from this,” Stadtlander said after the panel concluded its first meeting Wednesday morning.

The three-hour discussion included an overview of the courts, law enforcement, and district attorney’s role in the criminal justice system.

There was also a mention of four other similar reviews, which have been conducted in Mecklenburg since 1982. All four studies made similar recommendations, most of which were never implemented.

“They’re just repeating themselves,” said Ashley Frederick, a Charlotte resident who came to observe the meeting. “I just want to know why did (the county) wait until now to be concerned.”

Task Force members plan to sit in on court sessions and tour the Mecklenburg Jail to understand the county’s backlog of criminal cases.

Commissioners have allocated $2 million to implement the panel’s suggestions.

A list of recommendations is expected in September.