Jay Holmes, a Sherman Park resident, addresses the Public Safety Committee. (Photo by Jabril Faraj)

In response to concerns about public safety in the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton and Public Safety Committee Chair Alderman Bob Donovan said the council is asking members of the public to participate in a brief survey to help guide the efforts of elected officials and shape city policies that will make Milwaukee a safer place to live and work.

Members of the public are asked to visit milwaukee.gov/publicsafetysurvey to take the survey and register their opinion with council members. President Hamilton said paper versions of the survey will also be mailed out to a random sampling of Milwaukee residents distributed evenly throughout the city’s neighborhoods.

“As elected officials, we want to make sure that our actions are guided directly by the will of the people of Milwaukee,” President Hamilton said. “Addressing Milwaukee’s public safety issues and the systemic disparities that drive them will be a massive undertaking that will take every Milwaukee resident pulling together. Accordingly, we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to help shape our strategy.”

President Hamilton said the council will be sharing the results of the survey with the Mayor’s office, the Fire and Police Commission, the Office of Violence Prevention, the Milwaukee Community Justice Council and other community stakeholders, and working together with those entities to shape the new policies.

Alderman Donovan said that, in order to gather further input, the Public Safety Committee continues its series of special public hearings throughout the community on Saturdays in the month of October, and that the meetings have been productive so far.