How to Host a Town Hall Meeting

Across the country, police departments hold countless meetings with members of the public. Usually these are regular beat meetings to inform the public about crime statistics and to learn about quality-of-life complaints. Sometimes they are special meetings held in response to specific crises or incidents. And on rare occasions, some are held to invite the public to comment on agency policies and practices.

But based on our observations, as well as from conversations with both police officials and community members, these meetings tend to suffer from a number of problems:

• No clear objective in mind

• Police can dominate the conversation

• Turnout is poor and doesn’t represent the diversity of communities

• The meetings end with no agreement on what to do next

When should you host a town hall meeting?

Inviting specific community stakeholders to a town hall-style meeting is good practice when your department has a complex or X subject that the community needs to be informed about. Town hall meetings are structured to have multiple parts, which allows for multiple goals to be accomplished. Typically, town halls should have dedicated time up front for the department to share information and lay out any facts or relevant proposals. There should also be time for residents to express their opinions and share their feelings—people will want to be heard. The final purpose of a town hall is to solicit feedback or have a productive dialogue on the specific topic at hand. There should be concrete next steps and a timeline for follow up so that both the department and the participants can be held accountable.

How to prepare for a town hall meeting

The following steps are designed to help your department prepare for a successful town hall-style meeting:

• Identify the purpose for the meeting (if there is no specific purpose, don’t hold the meeting)

• Build an agenda tailored to the meeting purpose

• Conduct outreach, including a description of the meeting’s purpose and agenda

  • Broad outreach → make concerted efforts to invite organizations and groups representing diverse viewpoints

  • Targeted outreach → focus efforts on key stakeholders and relevant actors

  • Social media is not enough!  Building a meeting requires proactive engagement 

• Consider a third-party facilitator, especially if the meeting’s purpose is to consult or collaborate

• Choose a venue that allows people to participate in a meaningful way, unless you are simply informing them

  • Think about ease of access, including public transportation and parking

  • If the issue is particularly important, consider hosting multiple meetings across the city so that different neighborhoods can easily participate

• Set up physical space and facilitation style to enhance people’s ability to participate

  • If the purpose is only to inform attendees, the room can be set up as rows of chairs facing a speaker

  • If the purpose is to get input or collaborate, consider a “café table” or another setup

• Record action items to ensure they are not forgotten

• Report back to the community on actions taken in response to the meeting