Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Reporting And Data topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Portsmouth task force to compile City Council report; members flag missing consultant and juvenile justice data
Summary
Task force members set a May 23 timeline to compile committee reports for a joint City Council meeting June 9, highlighted gaps from the absent consultant and shared juvenile-justice data showing higher local risk scores than state averages.
At its May work session, the Portsmouth Climate Gun Violence Prevention Task Force set a timeline for committee chairs to submit progress updates and goals by May 23 so staff can assemble a report for the June 9 joint meeting with City Council. Chair Jalen Dre asked committees to include accomplishments to date, planned next steps and how each committee’s goals align with the task force’s broader violence-reduction plan.
Several members said the absent, promised consultant has left a gap in capacity. Councilman Hugo encouraged members to use the upcoming joint meeting to request the consultant and any other help the task force needs, saying it is appropriate to “ask your ask” of City Council before the group leaves that meeting.
The Data and Metrics committee presented preliminary findings from the Department of Juvenile Justice. A committee member said the state’s Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI) typically shows about 20 to 30 percent of assessed youth at high risk, but that Portsmouth’s scores were “much, much higher” in the committee’s pull of 2024 data. The committee supplied juvenile petition and probation figures for 2024 and said the data would help target youth-focused interventions.
Operational reminders included that task-force meetings require five days’ public notice and that there is no separate task-force budget; members suggested seeking community partnerships to support neighborhood meetings. The group scheduled a follow-up work session the week of May 26 to prepare the City Council report and reiterated that committee-level work should continue while staff and council consider providing a consultant.
The meeting recorded several procedural motions — acceptance of April 21 minutes, approval to move announcements to the top of the agenda, and adjournment — all approved by voice vote; exact tallies were not specified in the transcript.
