Residents expressed their ideas for the future of the Gainesville Police on Thursday evening at the department's fourth and final planning meeting of the year.
GPD is developing a three-year plan for improving operations within the agency and in the community. This is the first time in about 10 years that the agency has created a strategic plan independent of Gainesville's city plan, GPD Chief Tony Jones said at the event.
About 10 people attended the event, which began at 7 p.m. and lasted for about an hour. It was competing with a City Commission meeting and a UF basketball game, which was probably why turnout was lower than previous meetings, said Pat Grunder, GPD community relations coordinator.
Attendees wrote down their ideas for how GPD could meet its seven main goals, including building a community-focused workforce and fostering effective communication with employees, volunteers and citizens.
Kali Blount, a nurse at Shands at UF and a community organizer, said he wanted to see police become more involved in the community and get to know citizens better.
"I want to see the just-us system become a justice system," he said. "There needs to be accountability both ways."
