Reimaging Public Safety: A Community Conversation – YWCA Greater Austin
To address Public Safety and Police Reform, we are hosting a community conversation.
Public safety and police reform are a priority for the City of Austin. In order to create change that truly addresses community needs and takes resident input into account, the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager have invited community organizations like ours to play an important role in gathering and sharing feedback.
During this 90 minute session, we, as a community, will provide feedback about how we envision the police and other public safety resources addressing specific scenarios, ranging from traffic incidents to altercations involving guns.
Let your voice be heard! Join us on Thursday, January 21st in this collaborative effort to understand the opinions of our community on these issues.
Be prepared to participate in dialogue and to complete a survey during and after the community conversation. This may include discussing specific scenarios in depth. We ask that people come with an open heart and mind, ready to respectfully listen to the opinions of everyone in the room.
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What is Reimagining Public Safety (RPS)?
In June 2020, City Manager Spencer Cronk created a multidisciplinary team to spearhead Austin’s Reimagining Public Safety (RPS) efforts – designed, in large part, to help end disparities in how communities of color are treated when they interact with officers. The team is co-led by Deputy City Manager (DCM) Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde and Assistant City Managers (ACMs) Rey Arellano and Christopher Shorter.
The RPS core leadership team is taking a holistic approach to organize resources as part of the reimagining process. Leaders from departments across the City are collaborating on this effort, including the Office of Police Oversight, the Equity Office, Intergovernmental Relations, Labor Relations, the Police Department, Public Health, Law, and others. The City Manager charged his Executive Leadership Team with creating a City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to consider new ways to help and support the community in times of crisis.
In August 2020, after hours of community testimony, the City Council passed a historic budget to redefine public safety. For more information, please visit: https://austintexas.gov/publicsafety
During this 90 minute session, we, as a community, will provide feedback about how we envision the police and other public safety resources addressing specific scenarios, ranging from traffic incidents to altercations involving guns.
Let your voice be heard! Join us on Thursday, January 21st in this collaborative effort to understand the opinions of our community on these issues.
Be prepared to participate in dialogue and to complete a survey during and after the community conversation. This may include discussing specific scenarios in depth. We ask that people come with an open heart and mind, ready to respectfully listen to the opinions of everyone in the room.
—-
What is Reimagining Public Safety (RPS)?
In June 2020, City Manager Spencer Cronk created a multidisciplinary team to spearhead Austin’s Reimagining Public Safety (RPS) efforts – designed, in large part, to help end disparities in how communities of color are treated when they interact with officers. The team is co-led by Deputy City Manager (DCM) Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde and Assistant City Managers (ACMs) Rey Arellano and Christopher Shorter.
The RPS core leadership team is taking a holistic approach to organize resources as part of the reimagining process. Leaders from departments across the City are collaborating on this effort, including the Office of Police Oversight, the Equity Office, Intergovernmental Relations, Labor Relations, the Police Department, Public Health, Law, and others. The City Manager charged his Executive Leadership Team with creating a City-Community Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to consider new ways to help and support the community in times of crisis.
In August 2020, after hours of community testimony, the City Council passed a historic budget to redefine public safety. For more information, please visit: https://austintexas.gov/publicsafety