The board will stream two town halls on the Hamilton Police Facebook page. (Laura Clementson/CBC)
The Hamilton Police Services board will host two virtual town halls allowing randomly selected community members to weigh in on policing — including a random sampling of people with landlines.
The service said people will be able to answer live polls, ask questions and give comments on policing topics "relevant in today's society."
A third party company will call randomly selected landlines to invite people to participate. Those who don't have landlines can register online for their numbers to be included in the pool.
The board says the group will scrap people's information after the town halls.
"It is important for the board and police service to understand the needs and concerns of Hamilton residents to help support initiatives and address matters that impact the entire community," the board said in a media release.
"These virtual town-hall events will provide the board and police service with an opportunity to hear directly from the public on matters such as community safety priorities, accountability and reform."
Those without landlines can register online
A third party, The PrimeContact Group, will call randomized numbers from a pool of Hamilton landlines and ask residents to participate.
People without a landline who want to have their number included in the pool can register their number online. The deadline is Monday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m.
The meetings will be live streamed on the Hamilton Police Facebook page. They're scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 26 and Wednesday, Jan. 27 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Before each town hall starts, the dial-out process will begin and residents will be contacted and asked if they want to participate. Then they'll enter the virtual meeting.
The group will compile the results before the next public board meeting for review. The results will also be made public on the board website.
