Citizens will have an opportunity this evening to voice their concerns about crime and safety in Columbus.
K.B. Turner, who the city hired in January to evaluate and consult Columbus Police Department, will hold the meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Townsend Community Center located in Ward 1.
It will be the first in a series of meetings — one planned for each of the city’s six wards — to hear citizens’ ideas on how to improve public safety. Turner, with the Turners Enterprises firm in Memphis, Tennessee, previously told The Dispatch the meetings aimed to also provide as much transparency as possible to his consultation process.
All six meetings are slated for this month.
Turner, Columbus Mayor Robert Smith, Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor and representatives from the CPD will all attend the meeting, which a WCBI representative will moderate, a city press release said.
The city will ask representatives from other area media outlets to moderate subsequent meetings, the release indicated.
In an emailed statement, Smith said he and the city councilmen encouraged the public to attend the meetings.
“We want to hear what is on residents’ hearts and minds, and this is a great opportunity to do just that,” Smith said. “With a moderator from the media there at each event, we hope to encourage thoughts and ideas. We will be there to listen and listen intently.”
Taylor also expressed his hope residents — particularly in his ward — would come to the meeting.
“From a safety standpoint, there’s a lot of senior citizens in that area, a lot of younger families live in that area,” he said. “I think they need to and deserve to be a part of our Columbus Police Department to make sure that the entire city’s safe.”
He added that he wants residents to ask questions, listen to the moderator and then ask more questions.
“I think this will be a very positive meeting,” he said. “And I think it’s going to be a worthwhile meeting.”
The city council voted unanimously to hire Turner, a chairman of the University of Memphis Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, following statements Chief Oscar Lewis made during a press conference tying the city’s rising crime rate to biblical end times prophecy. Columbus will pay Turner’s firm $19,000 for a six-month contract. During the course of the study, Turner said he plans to work with city administrators on improving CPD’s data collection and policies and will meet with police officers to hear their input.
Lewis said he hopes tonight’s meeting will give him and his officers a better grasp of community concerns so they can better serve Columbus residents.
“Whatever their concerns are … I want to hear it all,” he said.
“I’m just going into it listening to what they have to say, just listening,” he added.
Other scheduled public safety meetings include:
· 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at Sim Scott Park Community Center (Ward 5);
· 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at First Christian Church (Ward 3);
· 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at Trotter Convention Center (Ward 6);
· 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at East Columbus Gymnasium (Ward 2); and
· 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at Hunt School Museum (Ward 4).
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