Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 14 UCW FEBRUARY 3-9, 2021 The Fayetteville Police Department will be hosting its quarterly Faith Forum on Feb.19 from 8:30-11 a.m. The event will be held at Fayetteville City Hall located at 433 Hay St, in- person seating will be limited but it will be bro- adcasted live on Zoom. "Faith Forum is a quarterly meeting with members of the department, faith-based lea- ders within the communities and the general public that provides us an opportunity to share information that assists citizens with attaining a greater knowledge of the police department and different programs we offer," said Lt. Diana Holloway, Public Information Officer for the Fayetteville PD. The forum also serves to alert the police department of issues and concerns within the communities that need to be addressed. Many times, these issues and concerns are brought to the attention of our faith-based lea- ders because the citizens have trust in them, she said. Faith Forum was first started back in 2017 by Fayetteville PD's current chief Gina V. Hawkins in observance of the trust citizens have in faith- based leaders and their ability to gather infor- mation from citizens based on the relationships between them. Chief Hawkins made the focus of the Faith Forums as an exchange of information between the police department and the citizens, as well as training opportunities for our citizens in order for them to gain a better knowledge of the Fayetteville Police Department, Holloway said. The upcoming Faith Forum will cover the topic of Community Engagement with the sub- topics of the Citizens Police Academy, the Police Activities League and the Internship at the Police Department for College Students. There will be subject-matter experts from wit- hin the police department speaking about each of the different topics to provide the citizens with the best, most up-to-date information on each of the topics presented. The first Faith Forum of the year will present citizens with the opportunity to select topics they would like to receive training on during the future Faith Forums for the year. "We as a police department feel that it is extremely important to have a trustworthy, transparent relation- ship with the citizens of our commu- nities in order for us to provide the best services possible to the citizens," Holloway said. The Fayetteville PD offers different forms of community engagement throughout the year with training in the Citizens Police Academy, the Police Activities League and the College Internship for College Students during their summer break. The trust aspect is extremely important because there is a vast amount of information our citizens have that will assist the police department in reducing and solving crimes and making our great city a better, safer place to live, Hollow said. The next Faith Forum will be three months from the current one and possibly be over Zoom as well, based on current COVID-19 restrictions. "The forums are not just for providing infor- mation to the citizens, they are a two-way street of giving and receiving information," Holloway said. "Without the citizens of our communities, we cannot successfully perform our duties as law enforcement officers." For registration and more information on the Faith Forum visit https://fpd.ticketleap. com/1faithforum2021/. Faith Forum with Police Department scheduled for Feb. 19 by KEYURI PARAB KEYURI PARAB, Editorial Assistant COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com 910-484-6200. EVENT (Above) Quarterly Faith Forums of fer an opportunit y for law enforcement and citizens to exchange infor- mation, concerns and ideas. (Below) Fayetteville Police Chief Gina V. Hawkins speaks with a Faith Forum participant. Christian music station local your