At summit, Fayetteville leaders discuss new Office of Community Safety

FAYETTEVILLE, N..C (WTVD) -- The city of Fayetteville is engaging the public through a summit about its plans to open an Office of Community Safety.

Officials said the summit is meant to gather input from experts on various public safety issues to help form the office's mission. That mission is to address violent crime, uplift the youth, support those grappling with mental health and support those without a home.

"We want to make sure that the right people are filling the right roles. So, it won't necessarily be a police officer fulfilling a role that a mental health provider needs to fill and that's what this discussion, this summit today will help us identify," said Loren Bymer, the marketing and communications director for the city of Fayetteville.

Members of the Fayetteville Police Department and the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office were part of the summit, as well as a host of nonprofits. The city council is still in talks about what part of city government the Office of Community Safety will operate out of and how much it will cost to open the office.

"What we hope residents take away from us holding the summit today is that they understand we take this very seriously," Bymer said. "We know that it's not manifesting as quickly as we'd like but it is extremely important to us, and we want to make sure that all areas are addressed, and we don't rush into this with our eyes closed."