The Milwaukee Police Department will begin hosting regular listening sessions later this month, in what it is calling an opportunity "to improve communication and trust between MPD and the community."

The effort is a collaboration between Milwaukee Police, Fire & Police Commission, Office of Violence Prevention, Community Collaborative Commission and Mayers Strategic Solutions.

The Community Collaborative Commission was founded in January 2018, from a federal initiative, to address tensions between communities and law enforcement.

Mayers Strategic Solutions is a consulting firm that advises lawmakers and law enforcement across the country. The firm advocates for "policing reform and curbing gun violence in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities," according to its website.

These new meetings will take place monthly and every one of the 15 aldermanic districts will get a session, police said in a news release.

“I look forward to listening and talking with the community more in the coming months about how we can partner together to earn trust and build relationships while safeguarding our residents," Chief Jeffrey Norman said. "We must guide our actions not by what we can do, but what we should do. We must always be ready and willing to change, adjust and learn.”

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The listening sessions come at a time in which Milwaukee is on pace to break its homicide record for a third consecutive year. Although, a midyear crime review provided by police showed overall violent and property crime down 8%.

The first session will be held on Saturday, July 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Marquette University Law School, Eckstein Hall, located at 1215 W. Michigan St. The locations for the future sessions are still to be determined, police said.

All the sessions will be open to the public. If you would like to attend the July 23 listening session, visit the event's website at mkepdpio.org.

Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police to begin monthly listening sessions on July 23