Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC)

About the Task Force

Governor Cooper established the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC) through Executive Order 145 in June 2020.

Led by Attorney General Josh Stein and North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls, the task force convened a wide range of stakeholders including: advocates, elected officials, state and local law enforcement agencies, justice-involved individuals, representatives of the judicial branch and more.

The task force submitted its recommendations on December 14, 2020. Read the final report here, the executive summary here, and the recommendations chart here.

Task Force Members

Prefix Name Occupation
Secretary Eddie Buffaloe Secretary, Department of Public Safety
The Honorable Anita S. Earls Associate Justice, NC Supreme Court
The Honorable Josh Stein Attorney General, State of North Carolina
Sheriff Clarence Birkhead Durham County Sheriff
Ms. Angela Bryant Assistant Secretary, NC Department of Health and Human Services
The Honorable Alan Thornburg Superior Court Judge, Buncombe County
Ms. Emily Coward Director of the Inclusive Juries Project, Duke University
The Honorable Mujtaba A. Mohammed NC Senate
Mr. Henderson Hill Senior Counsel, ACLU Capital Punishment Project
Ms. Deborah Dicks Maxwell President, Wilmington NAACP
Mr. Kerwin Pittman Founder, Recidivism Reduction Educational Programs Services
Mr. Jeff Nieman District Attorney, Prosecutorial District 18
Mr. Johnny Jennings Chief of Police, Charlotte
Chief of Police Jeffrey Smythe Chief of Police, Burlington
Professor April Dawson Associate Dean and Professor, NC Central University Schol of Law
Ms. Kim Gourrier Scott District Attorney, Prosecutorial District 7
Ms.  Nisha Williams Legal Director, NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Mr. Michael Hawkins Transylvania County Commissioner
Mayor Preston Blakely Mayor of Fletcher
Mr. Ricky Hurtado Co-Founder, LatinXEd
The Honorable Marcia H. Morey NC House of Representatives
Sergeant Billy Gartin Sergeant, Raleigh Police Department
Ms. Tracie Campbell Mecklenburg County Office of Violence Prevention
Mr. Talley Wells Executive Director, NC Council on Developmental Disabilities
Mr. Jamie Markham Senior Advisor, Department of Adult Correction
Judge Regina R. Parker District Court Judge, 2nd District
Sheriff  Quentin Miller Buncombe County