Gov. Beverly Perdue says a new panel designed to keep former offenders from returning to criminal behavior and prison will work to make North Carolina a safer place to live.

Perdue announced Wednesday all 34 members of the StreetSafe Task Force - a collection of state officials, education, church and business leaders. The co-chairmen are Attorney General Roy Cooper and Correction Secretary Alvin Keller.

Other notables on the committee include University of North Carolina system President Erskine Bowles, Employment Security Commission Chairman Moses Cary and General Baptist State Convention president the Rev. Greg Moss.

More than 28,000 offenders are released annually in the state. Perdue's office has said more than a third of ex-offenders return to prison within three years of their release.