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| Chief of Police Mike O'Brien embraces Trey Robinson at the safety summit held Friday at Chico State.. |
Police staffing, homelessness and shelters were the focus of a safety summit held Friday at Chico State.
The invitation-only meeting was held as a response to concerns in the community about safety after the Camp Fire. According to President Gayle Hutchinson and Vice President of Student Affairs Milton Lang, it was meant to be an open discussion of safety and about different organizations’ roles in Chico.
In response to recent safety concerns such as the campus flooding earlier this month, Hutchinson discussed the number of emergencies faced by the campus in the past year and the use of timely warning emails.
“Now I know it’s frustrating to wait for information on a developing or active event, especially in situations where social media is filled with conflicting information,” Hutchinson said. “It’s frustrating for me as well… We tend to err on the side of caution, to make sure that we have all of that accurate information, while social media may be spiraling with inaccurate information. I am committed to releasing accurate information in as timely a manner as possible to keep our community safe and to keep our community informed.”
Attendees were asked to rotate to different tables for much of the session to speak to other groups before getting the chance to ask public officials about their safety concerns. The goal was to discuss public concerns, and several officials addressed issues including police staffing.
“No matter how much money we spend on community safety… on those to control the streets and assist us, it’s never going to be enough,” said Mayor Randall Stone. “So we have to evaluate… what’s possible, and what’s financially possible.”
-- Natalie Hanson