SALISBURY — Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes is gearing up for his citizens advisory group, which will be made up of local pastors, community leaders, and residents.

The core group includes the Community Action Planning Team and others who were asked to help with the initiative.

The group met Thursday to set the foundation for future meetings, including selecting a chairman and vice chairman.

Stokes said the membership is neighborhood-based with the city divided into nine identified areas to find representatives. The group will have two members from each area for a total of 18 neighborhood members.

“Then there are other members, such as NAACP president, as standing members because of the institutions they represent in the city,” Stokes said.

He said it’s very much a building process at this time with membership being the first thing on the agenda. Some of the members of the group are people he asked to help with the initiative.

“The intent is to have a means for the community to hold me accountable as the police chief, providing feedback and direction on what the police are doing well or (what) needs to be improved on in the community,” Stokes said.

The advisory group also will be a sounding board for police policy development and review. It will be a source of information in the event of things such as an officer-involved shooting. The group would be called in and briefed, then be able to get the truth out and prevent misinformation from spreading throughout the community, Stokes said.

The advisory group is in the process of developing a charter to guide what it does.

Stokes said he wants to ensure that everyone understands that the group is not an “oversight” board like police departments such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg have.

The advisory group won’t review the use of force, personnel complaints, and similar personnel matters.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.