NORWAY — Police Chief Rob Federico said that the Norway Police Department is working on launching a Q&A program on the local access channel, where he and a guest will answer questions from residents about law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
Federico said that the program, called “Chats with the Chief,” is “something I’ve really wanted to do for a while now.”
“Whether it’s at Hannaford when I’m grocery shopping or at a gas station, people come up to me and ask me questions about my job,” Federico said. “My idea was to take questions from the public and then sit down with a guest and answer the questions.”
He described it as a “Johnny Carson type of thing,” with a “backdrop, a couple of chairs, a fireplace,” and that each episode would last “around 15 minutes or so.”
“We may get a question that asks why we need inspection stickers, or about rumors that people will get a speeding ticket for going 10 miles per hour over the speed limit, but not five,” Federico said. “The plan is to answer questions about certain types of scenarios.”
While there is no set date for the program to start, Federico said that the Norway Police Department Facebook page has made posts asking residents to send questions they have pertaining to the criminal justice system, or suggestions for people to come on the program as guests.
“For example, we could maybe have a district attorney or a judge to come on and help answer questions and talk about the criminal justice system,” Federico said.
The department’s Facebook page posted recently that residents have already sent messages suggesting elder abuse, fraud and opioid addiction as potential topics for discussion on the program.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be just law enforcement questions,” Federico said.
Federico added that residents are still welcome to submit their questions and suggestions for discussion topics or people and organizations they want to know more about on the department’s Facebook page.
“We don’t have a plan to start yet, but we’ll still take questions and suggestions,” he said.
mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net
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