The Teton County Board of Commissioners appointed five members of the community to be on a task force that will help shape the direction of law enforcement in the valley.
This comes after the commissioners received public feedback on budgeting for law enforcement and human services. This was at the same time of the national movement to defund the police.
Chairwoman Natalia Macker said the task force will try to figure out if resources could be better directed elsewhere. They will do this by trying to figure out what questions need to be answered.
"If someone is called if there's concern about someone's mental health. Should a police officer be dispatched or should a social worker be dispatched or both?" said Macker.
She said the task force will try to answer questions like these by looking at the data for the type of calls that the department is getting and making sure resources are allocated appropriately.
"I think it is a desire to make sure our public safety and law enforcement response and our dispatch center here locally is very comprehensive," Macker said.
Macker said they are trying to address public safety needs for the community. The task force will be made up of members of the community, emergency services, law enforcement, a mental health provider and a substance abuse nonprofit provider. The committee will eventually hire a consultant to help them determine a plan of attack.
