Tampa police held the first of a quarterly series of public safety workshops Oct. 12 at Fair Oaks Recreation Center, on gun safety. The next date is not set yet.

The Tampa Police Department held its first neighborhood public safety workshop Monday, Oct. 12, at Fair Oaks Recreation Center in East Tampa. The subject was gun safety, and the department offered free gun locks while supplies lasted.

Updated Oct. 15: the workshop has taken place. As of Oct. 15 the department had not announced the date or place of the next quarterly session. We will add it here when it does. This story was first published before the workshop.

The department announced the workshop Thursday as the start of a new series that will run once a quarter. Read the Police Department’s announcement.

When and where

  • When: Monday, Oct. 12
  • 5:30 to 6 p.m.: community meet and greet
  • 6 to 7 p.m.: breakout discussions at tables, led by facilitators
  • Where: Fair Oaks Recreation Center, 3400 E. Louisiana Ave.
  • Cost: free and open to the public

The department’s release did not mention registration.

What it covers

The first session was in the department’s District 3. It focused on three topics:

  • firearm safety
  • responsible gun ownership
  • preventing community violence

The department said the series is meant to keep neighborhood voices “at the head of the table” on public safety and quality-of-life issues.

Who will be there

The department said these people would join residents and community leaders:

  • Acting Police Chief Brett Owen
  • members of the Police Department’s command staff
  • City Council member Naya Young
  • Yvette Lewis, president of the NAACP Hillsborough County Branch
  • Freddy Barton, executive director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough

“Keeping our city safe is a shared responsibility that takes all of us working together,” Owen said.

Why now

The workshop comes after the department announced arrests in two fatal shootings in nine days. Police arrested a man in a Nebraska Avenue killing on Oct. 3. Two days later the department charged a 74-year-old man with murder in the shooting of a woman in her 70s inside a pickup truck. The department said that argument began at a restaurant. The department has not linked either case to the workshop.

An arrest or charge is an accusation. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in court.

What it means for you

  • The series is quarterly, so later sessions should move to other parts of the city. We will list them when the department announces them.
  • The breakout tables are where you can raise a concern about your own street with the people who set patrol priorities.

For this week’s arrests and incidents across the city, see our Police and Fire log.