TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Police department is continuing its efforts throughout the city to address safety concerns.

With officials’ “Town Hall Tuesday Initiative” that kicked off late last year, they’re giving residents the opportunity to meet with TPD personnel and ask questions.

What You Need To Know

  • Tampa Police Department established its ‘Town Hall Tuesday Initiative’ summer of 2023

  • The meetings are held in different areas of the city, to get input from residents and for residents to meet the officers in their community

  • Tuesday’s town hall tackled issues concerning teen gun violence 

  • Wednesday: Mayor Jane Castor, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, and Councilman Bill Carlson will host a Town Hall following recent concerns expressed by businesses, residents, and community members in SOHO at Glazer JCC (522 N Howard Avenue Tampa) at 5:30 p.m.

Recent gun violence was one of the focal topics of Tuesday’s meeting.

Niki Carraway says not enough is being done to help curve violence in the Tampa community. It’s why she has attended almost all town hall meetings, to share her concerns, specifically with teens.

“If we start early on and we teach our children about the different emotions and how to handle those emotions and then how to problem solve, I believe that a lot of that will change,” Carraway said.

For many at Tuesday night’s meeting, the concern has been the rise in teen gun violence in their communities.

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said over the last few months they’ve established programs to speak with the youth and form a bond with them as they grow older.

“We have plenty of resources for kids at the PAL program,” Bercaw said. “We do the stay and play at night, so there’s a ton of summer events coming on.”

According to Bercaw, so far, the meetings have helped them get an insight as to what could be done to help. But he says every community is different, and it starts with the residents taking action too.

He said the town halls offer that one-on-one conversation and a sense of safety.

“We are the community,” he said. “We’re the local police officers and knowing the police officers that work in your area.”

Some residents said they want officers to establish homes in communities where they’re seen every day, along with partnering with local organizations in each community.

She is part of an organization known as 813 Stop the Violence Tampa Bay, where she’s bringing awareness to gun violence across the county.

Carraway said these town halls have given her the opportunity to share her concerns so that others don’t lose a loved one like she has.

“Nobody wants that knock at their door,” she said. “Don’t wait until it happens to your loved one before you decide to do something.”

In the meeting, police officials also said they’ll be expanding its locked and unloaded project to 4 libraries to teach about gun safety.

And Wednesday night the Tampa Police Department will also be hosting a town hall specifically aimed at the shooting in the South Howard neighborhood last weekend.