The Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force will meet on March 24th, 2026 at 9:00 AM. The meeting will be held at 1201 Front Street, Raleigh, NC, 27609 and can be streamed at youtube.com/@NCPublicSafety/streams.
9:00 AM
Welcome
Call to Order
Ethics Reminder
Secretary Leslie Dismukes, Task Force Co-Chair, Secretary, Department of Adult Correction
Director Siarra Scott, Task Force Co-Chair, Director, Office of Violence Prevention, Department of Public Safety
9:10 AM
Discussion (Annual Report; Timeline; Definition of a Gang)
Secretary Leslie Dismukes, Co-Chair
Director Siarra Scott, Co-Chair
9:45 AM
Public Health Approach and Socio-Ecological Model
Belinda-Rose Young, Executive Director, Liberty Generation
10:15 AM
Break
10:25 AM
Gang Intervention and Prevention Efforts - Department of Adult Correction
Steve Jones, Psychological Program Coordinator, Foothills Correctional Institution
10:55 AM
Gang Validation – Adult Correction
Jason Bensavage, Criminal Justice Specialist/Investigator, Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, Department of Adult Correction
Jennifer Holste, GangNet Administrator, Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, Department of Adult Correction
11:15 AM
Gang Validation – Juvenile Justice
Jennifer Short, Business Systems Manager, Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Public Safety
Lindsay Waugh, Evidence Based Practices Administrator, Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Public Safety
11:35 AM
Break
11:45 AM
Previous Iterations of Gang Task Force – Successes and Lessons Learned
Caroline Farmer, Executive Director, Governor’s Crime Commission, Department of Public Safety
11:55 AM
Work Group Updates (Prevention; Intervention; Intelligence and Interagency Coordination)
Kevin Blackburn, Prevention Chair, Executive Director, Kids Making It
Michelle Guarino, Intervention Chair, Director of Program Development, Gang Free NC
Steven Holmes, Intelligence and Interagency Collaboration Chair, Assistant Director, North Carolina State Bureau of
Investigation
12:25 PM
Task Force Phase 2 Discussion
Director Siarra Scott, Co-Chair
12:55 PM
Upcoming Meetings and Closing Remarks
Secretary Leslie Dismukes, Co-Chair
Director Siarra Scott, Co-Chair
1:00 PM Photograph and Adjourn