Engagement methods
Qualitative methods: public meetings
Description
For the police, public meetings may be among the most familiar and longest standing forms of community engagement. While they can have their drawbacks (see Research evidence) , there are numerous ways of designing public meetings so that they are constructive for all participants.
When to use
Even though there are many new ways of engaging communities, some members of the public remain very comfortable with public meetings - though others are far less keen. One advantage of public meetings is that they are very flexible. They can be planned months in advance as part of a structured consultation process, or can be arranged quickly to discuss a problem that has just arisen.
Strengths
- Some people are familiar and comfortable with the format
- They are relatively easy to arrange (although involving some communities is likely to prove challenging and will take more time and effort)
- Low cost
- At its best, the event can convey the message that the organisation has come to the community. The location, style of meeting, attendance of staff/ officers, care over refreshments/ timing/ accessibility/ publicity/ language needs etc are key issues. If these issues are sensitively handled, preferably by working with the community in the planning and design of the event, then public meetings can be very effective.
Weaknesses
- Lack of planning can result in public meetings that have a confrontational 'us and them' feel about them, or which have very low attendance.
- They can be dominated by factions or individuals who are not representative of the wider community.
- Feedback mechanisms should be robust and built into the process, otherwise any initial enthusiasm will disappear and participants are likely to become cynical.
- Public meetings may be unsuitable or unappealing for certain groups. Some people may find it intimidating to speak to a room full of people. Others may be uncomfortable in mixed gender events. Others may find formal processes off-putting or old-fashioned. Smaller group work may be better with, for example, some Muslim women, some young people or some victims.
If you feel it is worth looking again at how to use public meetings more effectively, you can work with the community to improve them. You may have found that people from certain groups/ communities rarely came to previous meetings. If so, you might find it useful to work with these groups to increase participation. Some of the people who did come to the 'old style' meetings may be reluctant to accept changes. You will need to bear this in mind, and keep them 'in the loop' about what is happening and why.
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