Commissioner Bill Gibbons Participates in Southeastern States Public Safety Executive Summit

NASHVILLE --- Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons participated Thursday in the first Southeastern States Public Safety Executive Summit in Richmond, Virginia. Executive branch public safety officials representing Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida attended the one day summit to discuss public safety issues across the southeastern United States. 

 

The goal of the summit was to examine new and emerging trends, practices, and patterns across the southeastern states as they relate to drug trafficking, gangs, and human trafficking. The participants discussed strategies to combat these problems during challenging economic times and shared best practices from each state.

 

"We are all dealing with the same challenges, such as prescription drug abuse, meth, violent crime, child abuse, and too many repeat offenders. And we're all in the process of identifying the best approaches to tackle these challenges," Gibbons said.

 

In addition to representatives of the various states, the summit included representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.