Please sign and forward this letter to Fayetteville's (NC) elected officials and help bring about positive, systemic change in Community Safety.

The Office of Community Safety (OCS) must be approved, resourced and fully funded by Mayor Colvin, City Manager Doug Hewett and the City Council. We must act NOW to get OCS funding allocated in next year's municipal budget. This important policy change needs YOUR support to become a reality.

An OCS is a community-based approach to public safety and crime reduction that would be housed under the City of Fayetteville. OCS and other similar models can come in many different forms and are tailored to the needs of the community it serves. Many cities across the US have turned to these models in response to recent crime patterns, police brutality, lack of affordable housing and the rising rates of mental illness. These models help reduce excessive reliance on police officers which allows them to focus on violent crimes. It also saves the city money and resources while providing necessary systemic change and oversight within our public safety infrastructure. A fully funded OCS would establish:

• Mental health professional response to mental health crises (similar to the successful Durham HEARTS model)
• Oversight practitioners- trained and credentialed by National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) to provide oversight of the Fayetteville Police Department and to steward development of oversight bodies like the Citizen's Review Board
• Civilian Liaisons for hundreds of unhoused people in the city
• Centralized infrastructure to support community-led violence interrupter programs  

Please follow the website prompts to view, edit and forward your letter on behalf of this fight for change. Thank you. ALL OF US OR NONE.