CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte city leaders are moving ahead with plans to create a crime task force, spearhead by City Councilman Tariq Bokhari.
This week, he met with the mayor, city manager, the district attorney and two other councilmembers to take the first steps.
"A great initial game plan of engaging council, engaging the community," Bokhari said on WCNC's Flashpoint.
The moves comes as 19-year-old Daevion Crawford faces multiple charges after a shooting that injured five people during a New Year's Eve celebration in Uptown Charlotte. CMPD has also arrested and charged 12 other people for their actions in the area.
"It's Uptown. This is a significant part of town that we've been trying to revitalize for a while now. And whether it's economic development and events that we're trying to bring there, or just safety overall, this is a terrible, terrible storyline for that," Bokhari said.
Bokhari said he hopes the newly-formed task force will engage with different stakeholders including city leaders, parents, police and churches.
"All these areas coming together, that they will have united in a way, hopefully, that we haven't seen before in the topic of public safety, to create concepts that lead us towards a long term solution," he said.
Bokhari also plans to engage the General Assembly in passing tougher laws for parents of teen suspects and repeat offenders.
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Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
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