FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Fairhope Police Department is forming a new Citizen Advisory Committee that will serve to identify, evaluate and respond to the needs of both the community and the Police Department, according to a news release issued by the city Thursday.

“I made two promises when I interviewed for the job: to ensure that the department is always open and transparent in our dealings and to provide residents and the business community with a mechanism to voice their comments and concerns about policing in Fairhope,” Chief of Police Bill Press said in the news release.

The CAC will give the public the opportunity to do that on a regular, monthly basis, Press said.

“The CAC serves in an advisory capacity regarding issues relevant to police-community relations,” he said. “It is an excellent tool to prevent issues from festering. It provides the public, as well as the media, a direct response from the police, as opposed to hearsay. Anyone can come before the CAC with issues about anything relating to police business in Fairhope. This might be traffic and road issues, illegal vendors or illegal signage, suspected criminal or gang activity, noise, graffiti, or zoning violations. If someone brings a complaint or a concern that is not a police matter, perhaps something that needs to be addressed by planning or building, we can funnel it to the correct department.”

 The CAC will provide the police department with timely feedback regarding community concerns, and help the chief identify problems that require some type of government intervention.

“I will be the final authority in resolving all CAC issues, but neither I nor any other city employee or official will run the meetings,” Press said. “We work for the people, and these meetings will be run by the committee chair. This is just another way for the police to gather information.”

Press is hoping to involve a cross-section of Fairhope residents and businesses in the committee, the news release stated.

“Initially, the chair and co-chair of the committee will be appointed by the chief, but once the committee is established, membership is open to individuals who live, work, or have a business within the police jurisdiction.” To become a member, a person must be nominated by the chief or a current committee member, attend three monthly meetings, and be accepted by a majority vote of the committee. Complete information is available at City Hall and the police station, the news release stated.

“We hope to get input from local businesses, religious and civic organizations, youth groups, and homeowners associations,” Press said. “But we don’t want to have a meeting just for the sake of meeting. Hopefully people will attend and will have issues that we can address; and maybe they’ll even have good things to say about what we’re doing right.” 

The first meeting of the group will occur at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the James P. Nix Center, according to city staff.

For more information about the CAC, contact Chief of Police Bill Press at 928-2385.