Public Safety Community Outreach Project

In Hayward, we strive to be a community where everyone feels safe and supported, regardless of race or background.

We know achieving that vision takes continuous listening, learning, and improvement. In Summer of 2020, City Council directed staff to implement a public safety community engagement project to gather information and experiences throughout the Hayward community to inform future policy discussions. The first phase of this project focused on hearing community concerns. The second phase focuses on researching and testing possible policy alternatives. 

Policy Innovation Workshop on Community Safety, Spring 2021

The ten-week Policy Innovation Workshop took place from February - April, 2021. The Workshop paired teams of community members and staff to collaboratively brainstorm, research, and test possible policy alternatives using the feedback that has been gathered in the summer and fall. See workshop session dates, agendas, and recordings. 

The goal of the Workshop was to maximize community and staff engagement on a topic about which many feel strongly, while also moving the conversation toward actionable steps for Council consideration. The workshop will end with team presentations to the Budget and Finance Committee in April on promising concepts that could form the basis for pilot programs to include in the FY 2021-22 budget. See the roster of workshop participants.

On May 18, 2021, the City Council adopted a resolution authorizing funding for the workshop project recommendations. See the projects and track their progress.

Community Survey, Fall 2020

FM3 Consulting and Evitarus, Inc., public opinion research firms, conducted a survey of a statiscally signficant, representative sample of members of the Hayward community to assess community attitudes, perspectives and priorities related to public safety and law enforcement in Hayward. From October 3 through October 20, 2020, FM3 administered an approximately 15-minute survey to a representative sample of 1,002 Hayward residents. The sample was drawn from a comprehensive list of addresses within the City. The results can be seen here, and the presentation here. 

Community Conversations, Fall 2020

Over the course of August, September, and October, city staff worked with members of the community to host virtual community conversations about public safety and experiences with policing. Additionally, staff partnered with students and faculty at Chabot College to conduct one-on-one interviews with community members. Through these conversations, we heard from over 780 community members. Read the summary of findings here, and a list of sample quotes here.

The map below shows the responses from the 481 community members who consented to have their data shared anonymously on the website. You can view responses by racial/ethnic categories, age categories, and gender. 

A few notes on this data:
The locations on the map are placed in the vicinity of a cross street or landmark close to the participant and are not a representation of the respondent's actual location. Participants self-identified their race or ethnicity. For the purposes of this map, staff has combined categories to make it easier to read. The full self-identified list can be seen here. Staff has attempted to remove and profanity or offensive language. 

Communication and Information Sharing

Hayward Police Department Materials:

Hayward Police Department Manuals and Policies

• Hayward Police Department Policy Manual
• Automated License Plate Recognition Policy
• Strategic Plan
• Strategic Plan Accountability Tracker

Hayward Police Department Organizational Documents

• Organizational Chart
• Fiscal Year 2021 Budget
• 2020 Key Service Goals and Metrics
• Satisfaction Survey Results Summary
• Crime Mapping

Goals of the work outlined in the community engagement framework:

• Listen and respond to community members’ concerns about policing and public safety in Hayward and in particular, the ways in which City policies and practices may be disproportionately impacting communities of color in Hayward;
• Have a broader conversation on public safety issues to create a shared understanding of what public safety means for the Hayward community and to begin to brainstorm some potential policy options for realizing that vision;
• Cultivate and strengthen critical relationships between community members, the Community Advisory Panel, the Hayward Police Department (HPD), and other City staff; and,
• Relay information to the City Council about community priorities for public safety, experiences shared related to policing in Hayward and recommendations and policy options to achieve racially equitable public safety for all Hayward community members.