Friend,

This week, I’m pleased to share that the North Carolina General Assembly passed a major criminal justice bill that will make our state safer and more just.

This legislation will cement into law many recommendations from the Task Force on Racial Equity in the Criminal Justice System, which I’m honored to co-chair alongside Justice Anita Earls.

Our task force emerged from tragedy following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others. Since then, we’ve spent the past year developing and implementing recommendations to ensure our criminal justice system lives up to our country’s promise of “equal justice under law.”

The task force’s recommendations have focused on policy and legislative change to keep our communities safe while making our criminal justice system fairer for all North Carolinians.

The bill passed this week will help do just that. This legislation:

* Will help us recruit talented and diverse law enforcement officers and ensure that they have the training they need to be successful and build trust with the communities they serve.

* Requires early intervention mechanisms to help officers do their jobs properly, and when they cannot, it helps agencies address issues more quickly and ensure that they don’t hire a problem officer trying to move from another agency.

* Imposes a duty on officers to intervene when a fellow officer is using excessive force and then report it to a supervisor. It also furthers independent investigations of police-involved shootings.

* Limits local laws that criminalize poverty and reduces taxpayers’ burden by requiring a first appearance in court within 72 hours of a person being arrested.

Of course one law alone can’t improve every part of our criminal justice system, but these measures are a significant step forward in the fight for equal treatment.

I’m so grateful to everyone across the state who shared their experiences and ideas with the task force and helped inform these recommendations.

I’m hopeful that this legislation will move North Carolina forward. And I will not stop pressing to bring about the change we need to improve our criminal justice system.

Thanks,

Josh

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Josh Stein for Attorney General
PO Box 1326
Raleigh, NC 27602
United States