Public invited to participate in Olympia’s ‘Reimagining Public Safety’ workshop April 14
.jpg "Olympia’s reimagining public safety workgroup announced a virtual workshop session taking place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 14, to hear from residents on their concerns and needs.")
As Olympia City Manager Jay Burney prepares to hire a police chief by next week, the city’s work group on reimagining public safety wants to hear your voice.
In a press release from the city of Olympia, the work group announced a virtual workshop taking place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 14.
Those who attend the workshop will be asked to share their perspectives on what feeling safe and being safe means, according to the release. They’ll also be asked about efforts they think should continue, changes that could be made and how to keep officials accountable on making those changes.
People can sign up to attend the workshop on the city’s Engage Olympia website. An online public feedback option will open on the website on April 11.
The work group is made up of nine Olympia residents — Chris Belton, Christina Daniels, Matt Goldenberg, Larry Jefferson, Malika LaMont, Vanessa Malapote, Todd Monohon and Ally Upton — who’ve spent time learning how public safety works and is perceived in Olympia.
“They are investing their time and energy to really understand the challenges and opportunities for Olympia’s public safety system,” Burney said in the news release. “We recognize that our community members want a just and equitable system and we’re committed to doing a deeper exploration, together as a community, of what that looks like for Olympia.”
The work group will host a series of listening sessions with vulnerable communities such as crime victims, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community and more throughout April and May, according to the release. They will then take information they learned from the community and make recommendations to the city council on how to improve public safety.
There also wil be a virtual listening session April 20 with members of the business community.
“The reimagine process is important to me,” work group member Belton said. “It gives community members a chance to have a voice on what changes they would like to see.”
In the release, Burney said he believes the work group’s insight and information from the community can help make positive changes in policing, corrections, prosecution and more.
“The community’s participation will help to guide potential policies, practices, and trainings that make a difference in our ability to create equitable public safety systems here in Olympia,” he said.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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