Mayor Lee Brand today announced more details of an extensive process to gather as much input as possible from the community on what qualities, characteristics, priorities, issues and other attributes they would like to see in the next Fresno Police Chief. The current chief, Jerry Dyer, officially retires on October 16, 2019.
In order to ensure that the community has as much input into the process as possible, the City of Fresno has begun a comprehensive, citizen-led public outreach campaign. The first step is an online survey to facilitate community engagement as part of the Police Chief recruitment that will be available in English, Spanish, and Hmong. The survey asks a series of questions that focus on the important issues and challenges that our residents would like the new Police Chief to understand and address, as well as the qualities that are important to look for in the next Police Chief.
Individuals who complete the survey will be able to reply with their comments in a text box following each question. Here are the links to the surveys:
https://www.fresno.gov/PDsurvey/English
https://www.fresno.gov/PDsurvey/Spanish
https://www.fresno.gov/PDsurvey/Hmong
Hard copies of the surveys will also be available for pick up and drop off at the front counter of the Personnel Department on the first floor of City Hall.
In addition to online surveys of our residents, the City has scheduled five community meetings, one in each Policing District, to receive that same input. Each of the five community meetings will be hosted by respected community members with experience in moderating the public discussion.
“The selection of the next Police Chief may be the single most important decision we make in my service to the community as the Mayor,” said Mayor Brand. “This decision impacts everyone living in Fresno and that’s why we are reaching out to the community to get as much input and information as we can to help us make the right choice. We will continue to be completely transparent in this process.”
The City’s public outreach campaign begins today with the launch of the online community survey, which will be available on the front page of the City’s website at https://www.fresno.gov/ through May 31. The community meetings will start on April 23 and continue through May 9. The information received through the community survey and community meetings will be compiled and collated and used throughout the process of selecting Fresno’s next Police Chief.
In addition to these community meetings, the public will be able to provide input at Council District meetings scheduled between April 22 and May 31. The City will also be printing the community survey and distributing at City Hall, Council District meetings and other venues.