TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Police Department hosted a public safety workshop about firearm safety and responsible gun ownership.
The meeting was held at the Fair Oaks Recreation Center in Tampa.
Acting Police Chief Brett Owen met with community leaders including Tampa City Councilwoman Naya Young, NAACP Hillsborough County Branch President Yvette Lewis and Freddy Barton, executive director of Safe and Sound Hillsborough.
The workshop was open to the public.
"Get out into the community, give them an opportunity to sit down and talk to us one-on-one about some of the things that are going on. We’re going to focus on gun safety and gun theft problems that we’ve seen and we want to talk to them about proper storage and any other concerns that they may have in the community," said Acting Police Chief Brett Owen.
Acting Chief Owen said firearm thefts from vehicles have decreased within the City of Tampa, but young people are getting firearms in other places.
"Vehicle thefts are down. We're seeing a pretty significant decrease in that. Year to date, the auto burglaries are down almost 40% so it’s been pretty good, but again, firearms aren’t being taken from the cars, they're being taken from homes and other places so we’re trying to kind of curb that," Owen said.
The police department urges parents to store firearms in a locked safe. The department also handed out locks for firearms on Monday evening.
The Tampa Police Department plans to host workshops on a quarterly basis throughout the City of Tampa.
The public may submit questions prior to the workshops. They may also suggest topics they would like to discuss.
People may submit topic ideas to TPD-CommunityEngagement@tampagov.net.
"Our goal for this workshop series is to listen to what our neighborhoods need, provide our full backing and resources, and work hand-in-hand to bring community-based solutions to life," said Owen.
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