As part of a commitment to deepening connections between residents and the police who serve them, the Salinas Police Department is inviting members of the public to request small group meetings with Chief Kelly McMillin or other senior staff.
Any resident of Salinas will be able to request a "Here to Hear" or "Aquí para escuchar" meeting by filling out a short web form, by filling out a paper form at the police station or other locations around the City, or by making a phone call (details are below).
Here to Hear meetings will take place in an informal setting outside police headquarters. In order to encourage open dialog, the identities of the people attending the meeting will be kept confidential unless they choose otherwise. To ensure that each attendee has a chance to participate, groups will be limited to six or fewer people at a time. Meetings can be conducted in English or Spanish.
"I've had quite a few meetings like this already and I know they're valuable," said Chief McMillin. "We want to make sure people know this option is available for them and to make it as easy as possible."
The small group meetings complement the larger public meetings frequently attended by the Chief and other officers.
"The big, public meetings are important too," said Chief McMillin. "In these smaller ones there's time to go deeper, and people may feel more comfortable speaking frankly."
Here to Hear goes live on November 12, 2014, with the launch of the web request form at salinaspd.com/here-to-hear and in Spanish at salinaspd.com/aqui-para-escuchar.
Paper forms will initially be available at the police station and City Hall, and will be offered to community organizations, churches and others.
The phone number to call on or after November 12 will be (831) 758-7286.
