TAMPA, Fla. — In an initiative to strengthen community-oriented policing efforts, the Tampa Police Department hosted its first of a series of Town Hall events on Tuesday.
The inaugural event was held at New Testament Worship Center, located at 5107 E. 32nd Ave.
"This is all about community partnerships, meeting with the community, hearing their concerns, imparting some information and coming together to provide solutions," Major Eric DeFelice, a police officer with the department, said.
In Tampa, there are nearly 400,000 residents and just under 1,000 officers. TPD said it is most effective in preventing crime with the support and assistance of the public.
"We're not going to be as effective just by ourselves," DeFelice said. "So having those extra eyes and ears out there helps out a lot."
DeFelice said in order to build trust, you have to start by having a conversation with the people living in the areas you have sworn to protect.
"It starts with us just being here," he said. "The call went out, we want more community police and we want more face-to-face time. And here we are, we showed up in force, you don't just have officers, which is good on the beat, but you have the deputy chief, a major, two captains and other various officers here to support this community."
TPD plans to host around five more town hall panel discussions. Each Town Hall Tuesday will be held in a different sector of the city and serve as an opportunity for the community to meet with TPD personnel, including Chief Lee Bercaw, district commanders and officers who are assigned to patrol that area of the city.
This, the police department says, will help create an environment to develop shared crime-prevention approaches and address community concerns together.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.