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More than 150 public safety professionals, policymakers, researchers, and community advocates gathered at George Mason University’s Potomac Science Center in Woodbridge, Virginia, for a first-ever meeting of regional safety officials on June 13.
The Community Safety Innovations Symposium: Elevating Coordinated Response Efforts was hosted by Prince William County, Virginia’s Office of Community Safety (OCS) and convened by Schar School of Policy and Government affiliate faculty member Tauheeda Yasin. Yasin is also director of the OCS.
The daylong event offered a comprehensive look at regional strategies to enhance emergency response, prevent violence, and build stronger, safer communities through data, dialogue, and trust.
Program speakers underscored in words and data a shared urgency not commonly known to the public: The public safety landscape is evolving, and so must the systems designed to protect communities.
Attendees split into panels focusing on human trafficking and fire and emergency medical service innovations, followed by sessions on policing technologies, gang intervention, cross-agency collaboration, and domestic violence fatality review. Each session connected policy and practice through lived experience, local expertise, and forward-looking research.
A standout moment came during the panel on Cross-Agency Collaboration, moderated by OCS’s Kimberly Sparkes. The panelists included Prince William Lead Epidemiologist and Population Health Supervisor Diane Martinez Anderson, Manassas Police Master Officer T.J. Rodriguez, and Director of Community Outreach and Partnership Sarah Henry. They spoke candidly about both the barriers and breakthroughs in working across systems.
“We can't expect lasting change unless we build and maintain trust across sectors,” Rodriguez emphasized, advocating for a regional model akin to a Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments framework. The independent Council of Governments connects and coordinates regional leaders in a wide range of public-facing services. His words echoed the symposium’s call for sustainable, coordinated safety infrastructure.
Rodriguez, a 27-year veteran and an award-winning community vitality officer, later shared insights on community-centered policing: “Living where you serve makes all the difference,” he said. “You understand the community not just by data, but by heart.”
He passionately advocated for early intervention strategies and more proactive safety planning and encouraging partnerships with nonprofits, universities, and think tanks to scale what works.
Sessions on public safety communications and wellness reminded attendees that systems coordination must include self care. From geographic information system data integration to “sound baths” and trauma-informed yoga, the day recognized that responders need restoration, too.
The closing reflections from the Schar School’s Yasin reinforced the overarching theme.
“Sustained collaboration, innovation, and trauma-informed approaches are not optional,” she said. “They are essential to safer, more resilient communities.”
Following the event, Prince William Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Jacqueline Lucas, who participated in discussions on domestic violence, praised the symposium’s inclusive approach to addressing major regional challenges.
“It was wonderful to collaborate with other agencies and private partners on something I care deeply about,” she said. “I look forward to continuing this work together.”