WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — Governor Josh Stein made a big announcement in Winston-Salem on Tuesday afternoon.
He said youth gang activity is surging, and he’s created a task force to help prevent it.
Stein signed an executive order to establish the Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force. They will not only aim to reduce gang violence but also prevent kids and teens from joining and staying in gangs, but it’s going to take more than just a task force to help tackle this goal.
“Juvenile gang crime has increased nearly 50% over the past five years. The kids who get involved in gangs are about twice as likely to have a family with criminal history, and they’re more likely than their peers to have mental health problems,” Stein said.
He said the best way to crack down on this problem is first through understanding who gangs recruit and also intervening before it happens. That is why Stein said establishing a task force is important, but it is going to take collaboration to make it happen.
“It will include law enforcement, education leaders, legal representatives, mental health and substance use organizations and people who successfully left gangs themselves,” Stein said.
Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn Jr. stood alongside the governor in supporting the effort.
He’s said for a long time now that enough is enough, and it is going to take the entire community in order to make a change.
“We need the schools. We need the practitioners. We need the mental health experts. We need clergy. All of these groups together encompass the village, and if we all play our role and work together, we can be the community that we want to be,” Penn said.
The message during Tuesday’s press conference is similar to the message the chief shared at a press conference in early August when five young lives were lost in one weekend due to gun violence.
“I want everyone to take some time and look at the ages of those involved and pay attention to the time. Pay attention to the time and the ages not just the numbers … Pay attention to that, and then think about what I’ve been saying,” Penn said.
FOX8 asked the chief again on Tuesday about the triple homicide on Cameron Avenue that happened outside of a house party.
“It’s still an active investigation … Gang activity has not been ruled out for the part of a motivation in that,” Penn said.
That crime remains unsolved.
According to Stein, the executive order will also reestablish the VP’s advisory board, which is made up of various figures and positions.
Next, Stein says he will push for a budget for law enforcement in the general assembly.
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