Reimagining Public Safety Task Force

In 2019, the Black Student Union (BSU) published a list of recommendations for Public Safety to implement. The Progressive Policing Community Advisory Board (PPCAB) provided initial guidance on how to address these student concerns.

In 2020, Public Safety committed to an initiative called Reimagining Public Safety, which was part of the larger USF 6+YOU Initiative. The purpose of the Reimagining Public Safety initiative was to provide Public Safety, as well as the broader USF community, educational opportunities that would foster engagement with the following question: how can we reimagine policing on campus?

The Reimagining Public Safety Task Force was then formed and charged with implementing the initiative.

Initiative Timeline:

Semester	initiative phase	DESCRIPTION
Fall 2020	Building The Capacity to Talk About Race and Policing	Public Safety completed a 6-week training called “How To Talk About Race and Policing”. Topics covered include: dialogue tools, racial literacy and practice talking about race and policing.
Spring 2021	Hearing from Those Who Are Re-imaging Policing	National scholars and activists who were at the forefront of re-imagining policing on and off college campuses were invited to participate in a series of webinars hosted by the Office of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (formerly known as DECO). Public Safety further deepened their dialogue skills by debriefing the topics of race and policing covered in each webinar.
Fall 2021	Hearing from Students of Color and Others Doing Re-Imagining Work	Listening sessions were held where Public Safety interviewed USF students of color, administrators from other universities and abolitionists on what a reimagined department could look like.
Spring 2022	Finding Themes from Listening Circles	Public Safety analyzed transcripts from the listening sessions and the following themes were identified: Public Safety Training and Hiring Students of Color Sense of Belonging Building Trust with Students of Color
Fall 2022	Gathering Data to Propose a Re-Imagined DPS	USF community members gathered to discuss the finding and themes from the listening sessions. These discussions informed the draft proposal. Community members included: ASUSF Senate Black Student Union Current USF students Cultural Centers Department of Public Safety Latinas Unidas Office of the Dean of Students Office of Community Living Participants from the listening sessions School of Education School of Nursing and Health Professions Student Leadership and Engagement USF Alumni
Spring 2023	Gathering Input To Update Proposal	Public Safety and the Office of the Dean of Students are reviewing the draft proposal and will provide the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force with feedback. The final proposal will be shared with the community once the revised version has been approved.