Sessions scheduled to gather feedback on Sheriff’s Office
A series of community listening sessions are being held for residents, businesses and community organizations to provide feedback on trust, accountability and transparency in the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.
Sessions are hosted by the County Manager's Office with the purpose of understanding:
- How the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office can be more accountable and transparent while building community trust in response to the needs of residents, businesses and community organizations. Residents are encouraged to share recommendations for the county on how to achieve this.
- Specific law enforcement and public safety needs and concerns for Black/African American/ADOS and American Indian/Indigenous residents and community organizations. The sessions on Dec. 15 and 16 will be culturally specific to focus on the needs of these communities.
- Specific law enforcement and public safety needs and concerns for suburban cities and residents that contract for law enforcement services through the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.
The conversations will be held online through Zoom meetings.
- Watch a video of the Dec. 8 session (Passcode: Fx8?$U!5)
- Watch a video of the Dec. 12 session (Passcode: y5T*pPAQ)
- Watch a video of the Dec. 15 session (Passcode: Ux1#xRyM)
- Watch a video of the Dec. 16 session (Passcode: Y0x!=Dzm)
Information gathered during these listening sessions will be compiled and reported to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners.
View meeting times, dates and links
The County Manager’s Office has received several inquiries about these community listening sessions scheduled throughout the month of December. The sessions are intended to provide a focused opportunity for all members of the Ramsey County community to provide feedback and recommendations regarding how the Sheriff’s Office can continue enhancing accountability and transparency while building community trust. These listening sessions are not specifically focused on whether the sheriff be an elected or appointed position in Ramsey County.
Ramsey County has hosted community listening sessions on many topics in 2020. These have addressed housing instability, community corrections, employment supports, mental health responses, Veterans services, racial equity, COVID-19 information and testing, and more. The sessions on the Sheriff’s Office will focus on an area of the justice system that, locally and around the country, remains an area in which governments and community must be willing to listen and improve.
The listening sessions are but one step along a process in Ramsey County to continually improve – as a place for community to raise and address specific concerns and a formal opportunity for engagement and input between law enforcement entities and the communities that they serve. Their scope covers an entire organization and its work to be accountable, equitable and effective in serving the state’s most diverse county.