Late last year, partly in response to the protests that rocked the nation after the murder of George Floyd, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill that was passed with bipartisan support. The bill, Senate Bill 300, creates requirements for police departments to share recordings of the death of serious bodily injury to the personal representative of the person injured, promotes the recruitment of officers with diverse backgrounds, and seeks to limit local laws that criminalize poverty.
Many of the reforms in SB 300 came from suggestions made by the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC), established in June 2020 by Gov. Cooper, Attorney General Josh Stein, and NC Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls. The mission of the task force is to “focus on addressing existing policies and procedures that disproportionately affect communities of color and developing solutions to ensure racial equity in North Carolina's criminal justice system.” The Task Force, based on a report available on its website, has made over 125 recommendations for criminal justice reform in the state. Categories for these recommendations include “Reimagining Public Safety”, “Improving Policing Practices”, and “Enhancing Accountability”, among others. Here is a brief overview of where the state stands:
Reimagining Public Safety
Five of the 125 recommendations given by TREC fall under this category. As of this writing, two of the five are recommendations have achieved partial success in being implemented, while the other three are under considerations. TREC calls for actions in this category to include more appropriate responses to situations, adding crisis intervention training for law enforcement, and the funding of grassroots organizations that seek to promote public safety. Many of these efforts call for state and local policy changes to made, adding complexity to the problem and solutions offered.
Improving Policing Practices
30 of the 125 recommendations given by TREC fall under this category, which focuses on wide ranging changes to policing in the state. Unlike with “Reimagining Public Safety”, many of the recommendations under this heading are either not accomplished or still in development. TREC calls for the adoption of community policing philosophies and plans, training law enforcement heads on community policing, the deemphasizing of felony drug possession arrests for trace quantities under .25 grams, the restriction on state law enforcement using asset forfeiture, and the revision of the role of school resource officers, among others.
Enhancing Accountability
15 of the 125 recommendations given by TREC fall under this category, which focuses on enhancing the accountability and investigation of police actions in the state. 4 of the 15 recommendations have been considered as partially or fully successful enacted. TREC calls for the expansion of investitive and oversight authority of local citizen oversight boards, the expansion of the authority to revoke police officer certifications based on a history of an excessive use of force or abuse of power, the expansion of psychological screening for all law enforcement officers, and the mandating of body work cameras and the release of footage within 45 days of critical incidents.
Strengthening Recruitment, Training, and the Profession
10 of the 125 recommendations given by TREC fall under this category, which focuses on enhancing the accountability and investigation of police actions in the state. 6 of the 10 recommendations have been considered as partially or fully successful enacted. TREC calls for the expansion of data collection on law enforcement recruitment and diversity initiatives, the requirement of LEOs of a certain size to create a diversity task force, the revamping of basic law enforcement training in the state, and the evaluation of law enforcement training programs for effectiveness and desired outcomes.
Eliminating Racial Disparities in the Courts
34 of the 125 recommendations given by TREC fall under this category, which focuses on enhancing the reform of court systems within the state. Most of the recommendations are still not accomplished or still in development. TREC calls for the replacement of juvenile life without parole with parole eligibility, the deprioritization of marijuana related arrests and prosecution, the shrinking of the criminal code, the elimination of cash bail for Class I, II and III misdemeanors, the implantation of racial equity training for court system actors, and the promotion of racially equitable prosecution practices, among others.
Promoting Racial Equity Post-Conviction
29 of the 125 recommendations given by TREC fall under this category, which focuses changing the outcomes for people of color post criminal conviction. The vast majority of the recommendations are still not accomplished or still in development. TREC calls for the reduction of current sentencing and incarceration disparities, the reduction of court fines and fees, the development of a process to eliminate criminal justice debt, the increasing of funding for mental health services and programs in prison, the elimination of the future use of Violent Habitual Felony Status, and the review of all future sentences after 20 years have passed, or before, among other proposed changes.
In 2021, based on the end of the year report provided by the organization, legislation was passed that targeted over 40 of the 125 recommendations.
Outside of SB 300, such reforms were made in SB 207, which sought to stem the school to prison pipeline and rethink juvenile justice, HB 608, which sought to protect pregnant people in jails and prisons, and Cooper's Executive Order 208, which established a review board for juvenile sentences in the state.
