Durham Community Safety and Wellness Task Force urges action to improve youth safety

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- As Durham County Commissioners work on the upcoming budget, safety is top of mind for the Durham Community Safety and Wellness Task Force.

After two and a half years of work, the task force presented 16 recommendations.

The needs include criminal justice reform, gun violence, school safety and mental health support. Some task force members said young people remain in the spotlight as the county aims to improve safety overall.

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Andrea Hudson, a member of the task force, said her son, who is in college, witnessed a person being shot and killed in front of him in Durham.

"I think that's a really hard issue to deal with," she said.

Among the recommendations is Durham Public Schools revising their school resource officers program.

"We need to focus on the youth, and young people, and children," Marcia Owen, the task force co-chair, said. "There has to be an immediate and complete response when they are exposed to violence."

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