Vicksburg residents have the opportunity Monday to meet with members of the Vicksburg Police Department to discuss and ask questions about crime in the city, video cameras and other law enforcement issues at a 5:30 p.m. public meeting in the boardroom of the Robert M. Walker Building, 1415 Walnut St.

“This is something we’ve been talking about doing for a while,” said Deputy Chief of Administration Mike Bryant, adding the department had a similar program in June.

He said the purpose of the meetings is to inform the public about activities at the police department and the status of certain cases. Bryant, Police Chief Penny Jones and Deputy Chiefs Troy Kimble and Charlie Hill will be at the meeting to talk with the public.

One area of discussion, Bryant said, is police recruitment.

“That seems to be a big topic with everyone in the nation about police recruitment and retention, and we’re going to let the public know what we’re going to be doing to try and get officers and try to retain the ones we have,” he said.

There will also be a discussion about the department’s Citizens on Patrol Academy, which allows residents an opportunity to get some insight into how the department operates, Bryant said, adding applications for the academy will be available at the meeting.

He said the meeting will also discuss the city’s video camera project.

“We have more cameras mounted and in place now, and more are going up when they come in,” he said. “The big holdup is getting Entergy to run the power to them and getting the poles (for the cameras) up.”

The computer room, where observers will watch the camera images, will be at the police department.

“We’re just keeping the people informed of our activities and of course, we know people are going to ask questions and we’ll gladly answer any questions that we can,” Bryant said.

People who cannot attend the meeting in person are invited to submit questions via VTV’s Facebook page during the live stream.