This week: A chance for the public to give feedback on the St. Anthony PD

The first of three sessions is Monday night.

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Federal officials will be holding listening sessions this week to hear what the community has to say about the St. Anthony Police Department.

This is part of the Department of Justice's Collaborative Reform Initiative – a program that aims to help cities implement ways to improve trust within the community. The City of St. Anthony had requested to be part of the program a few months after one of its officers fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop.

Last month, the city was accepted into the program.

There will be three listening sessions this week:

Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Falcon Heights Elementary School gym.
Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Anthony Village High School Auditorium.
Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Lauderdale City Hall.

Federal officials say an important part of the reform program is to get the community's perspective, with the goal of these listening sessions being hearing from community members on how St. Anthony police can "foster trust and strengthen relationships" with them.

More on the Collaborative Reform Initiative

The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) works to advance community policing nationwide with several programs that are geared toward providing technical assistance to police departments that are looking to get better.

One of those programs is what the City of St. Anthony was accepted into. The Collaborative Reform Initiative has worked with several other cities that have had to deal with community trust issues in the wake of officer-involved shootings.

For more on the program and what it's done, check out this earlier story.