Introducing: “The People’s Brief — Reimagining Public Safety in Lancaster City”
Our last blog post — “How Should Lancaster Choose Its Next Police Chief?” — struck a nerve. Within hours, people were sharing, commenting, and weighing in with thoughtful feedback.
One message came through loud and clear:
Lancaster is ready to have a real, public conversation about policing.
People are saying things like:
“I’m all for modernizing transparency and opening up this process so the city can actually weigh in.”
“It’s smart to get folks to start thinking about this.”
“A call for an open forum is exactly what we need.”
We hear you.
That’s why the Black Voter Outreach Network of Pennsylvania is launching a new public series:
The People’s Brief: Reimagining Public Safety in Lancaster City
This will be a community forum hosted right here on our platform — through blogs, video interviews, social media posts, and public Q&A sessions — all designed to explore three central questions:
What is the best way to gather community input?
What are the different models of policing?
What model makes sense for Lancaster City?
For too long, conversations about policing have been held behind closed doors. Leadership changes, press statements are made, and then it’s back to business as usual.
That ends now.
.
This will be an ongoing public dialogue — not just a one-time forum — featuring local residents, subject matter experts, organizers, clergy, educators, and community leaders who care about transparency and accountability in public safety.
We believe the people of Lancaster deserve to have a voice in shaping the future of policing — especially when the next police chief will be chosen under a new administration and in a moment when our city needs trust more than ever.
So, over the next several weeks, we’ll be exploring these three questions together.
We’ll bring information, history, and examples from across the country — and we’ll make space for you to share your thoughts, your experiences, and your ideas.
Because reimagining public safety isn’t just about policy.
It’s about people, process, and power — and how those three things can finally work together for Lancaster.
