CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Charlotte City Council members are working on a plan to gather key leaders from across Mecklenburg County for a Public Safety Summit this fall.
They brought up the idea during a council committee hearing on Monday.
The goal is to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to forming more partnerships and getting help from state lawmakers to enhance Charlotte's public safety. The ideas the committee discussed on Monday tie in directly with the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the light rail.
“We need to work with the county, with the DA, with the judicial system," said Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera. "We all need to do our part and advance this as a group together.”
To do that, council members want to hold a public safety summit to discuss several topics. These three in particular stood out:
Retain and recruit law enforcement Get more funding to hire additional justice system staff Invest in mental health facilities and services“We can extend out to our relationship partners to be part of this conversation and understand everybody’s role, and quite frankly, I think that’s what the city is looking for, somebody to take the lead on this," said Councilman James Mitchell Jr. "Someone to reach out, get all partners in a room.”
All three elements have been hot topics of conversation since Zarutska’s death on the Blue Line train on August 22. The accused suspect, Decarlos Brown, has a history of criminal offenses and mental health issues. It’s prompted CATS officials to roll out new security measures in recent weeks, mainly adding extra officers.
"Conversation has so much focused on policing that we need to really have a larger conversation on public safety that includes trust, accountability and support across the entire system," said Ajmera.
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That includes making sure the district attorney’s office and courts are fully staffed. Council members said right now there are only 95 state prosecutors when a city of Charlotte’s size should have 144.
"We need to spell that out, that we need to operate at full capacity because when there is a shortage in trials, that means justice is being delayed," said Ajmera.
Council members also talked about strengthening qualifications for magistrates and potentially reestablishing a local juvenile detention center.
They threw out the date of November 10 as a possible time to hold the proposed public safety summit. Queen City News will keep you updated as we get more details on it.
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