RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina has a new public health approach to reduce violence across the state.
The plan, released Tuesday, was developed by the North Carolina Office of Violence Prevention. The office was created by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023 to reduce violence and increase public safety.
“Every North Carolinian deserves to feel safe in their homes, schools, and communities,” Cooper said. “This plan is a roadmap to advancing a public health approach to violence prevention by supporting law enforcement, local communities, grassroots organizations and public health professionals to create safer and healthier communities.”
Crime rose 2.3% across North Carolina in 2023 compared to 2022, according to a report released in October by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The summary, which included data reported by selected agencies from across the state, found that while violent crime fell marginally, property crime rose 2.8%. The number of young people under the age of 18 arrested also rose by 35%.
“The evidence shows that violence is preventable," Siarra Scott, acting director of the Office of Violence Prevention, said. “It also shows that maintaining healthy and safe communities throughout our entire state is achievable."
The three-year strategic plan outlines three priorities for North Carolina:
Enhance collaboration and coordination
- A focus on breaking down silos between law enforcement and public health officials
- Increase collective impact across the state through interagency data alignment
- Increase partnership and coordination between local, state and federal agencies
Strengthen the Community Violence Prevention Workforce
- Ensure that violence prevention professionals have the tools, support and resources necessary
- Focus on establishing skills, enhancing reach and demonstrating benefits of prevention and intervention
Prepare and empower local communities
- Equip communities with the infrastructure, knowledge and resources to act on violence prevention strategies
- Train communities on evidence-based models and a public health approach
- Provide access to tools needed to implement local solutions
"This plan provides a strategic roadmap for partnership, informed by leaders who are dedicated to helping our office build an ecosystem across the state and expand on existing efforts to reduce violence,” Scott said.
Becky Ceartas is part of the State Community Violence Advisory Board and the executive director for NC Against Gun Violence. She said it is about getting to the root of the issues.
“There's a relatively small number of people who are most at risk for either being a perpetrator or victim of gun violence, really focusing in on them to see, you know what protective factors are out there,” Ceartas said. “We advocate for taking a public health approach to preventing gun violence, really treating it as, you know, an infectious disease.”
“That means is kind of going through a process of really first understanding what the problem is that is actually going on in each particular community,” Scott said. “So that you better understand, like the who, what, when, where and how of the problem, and that will help you better identify what strategies are going to be most relevant to address those issues.”
Resources play a role in helping folks choose a different path in life.
“Educational opportunities, affordable housing, employment, food and the list goes on and on, in regards to these root causes of gun violence,” Ceartas said.
“The real work to help to reduce violence for local communities is going to happen in those communities,” Scott said. “So, us at the state, we're here to make sure that they're [communities] empowered through resources and knowledge.”
Strengthening violence prevention groups also go a long way.
“These are evidence-based programs that take a public health approach to preventing gun violence, trying to address some of the root causes that we just discussed," Ceartas said. "While directly mediating conflicts before they turn deadly, and also trying to change the culture of norms around guns in our communities."
The Office of Violence Prevention will hold its first statewide conference next week. The event is expected to bring more than 200 community violence prevention professionals from across North Carolina together to build partnerships statewide.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.