DeKalb’s top cop hopes to foster greater community engagement, inviting residents to share in conversation about crime and safety.

DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd welcomed residents Tuesday to the first two of what is expected to be monthly “Chats with the Chief.”

Held at University Village Apartments and the DeKalb Police Department, “Chats with the Chief” offered an informal community conversation about crime and safety and is open to all.

Byrd said he looks forward to hosting the events regularly.

“I would sit in an open space, and people will pull up chairs and have an open conversation,” Byrd said. “My plan ... going forward every month is to continue to do that.”

Byrd previously started a similar event at The Junction Eating Place, inviting residents to coffee with the chief, a short time after he joined the police department in 2021.

Byrd said the idea behind the event was simple.

“The goal was for them to get to know me because I was from Chicago, and I wanted the people of DeKalb to have the opportunity to sit down and get to know me as a person and as a leader of the department,” Byrd said. “And, then, of course, we talk about public safety, as well.”

Attendance at the coffee with a cop events started to dwindle during the COVID-19 pandemic. So much so, the police chief put them on pause and turned to TD Ryan’s then-WLBK-run morning show, hoping to reach the community.

That radio program saw changes in early 2025, the station’s owner cut the news radio program and its staff.

Since then, Byrd has taken up the idea to host “Chats with the Chief.”

“I felt like I needed to do something to get out to the community,” Byrd said.

The structure of the events remains largely the same, with the police department providing a space where residents can drop in and talk about public safety.

On Tuesday, three people were seen at the 6 p.m. session in the University Village Apartments’ community room, and one person was reported by the police chief at the 10 a.m. session in the police department’s community room.

Both events were on the heels of the police department’s annual report to the City Council. At that time, Byrd shared details highlighting the challenges and opportunities the police department faces.

One such item, Byrd said, the agency continues to grapple with is domestic violence-related cases.

In 2025, the city’s only homicide was a result of domestic violence.

In remarks to the City Council, Byrd said it’s unacceptable.

“It is a problem,” Byrd said. “We’re going to have to continue to work on it to make sure that we reduce it.”

Byrd said he would like to introduce a standalone domestic violence unit.

He said having two officers solely dedicated to cases of domestic violence would help the city.

The police department currently has two officers who oversee the domestic violence unit, but they also have to handle other calls for service, he said.

“It’s the one crime that I know that we have a hard time being proactive and interdicting because most of these crimes occur in the sanctity of a home, which a law enforcement officer would have to have a legal cause to be within the sanctity of the home,” he said.

“Chats with the Chief” sessions are anticipated to be held monthly at various locations in the community.

“It was a really good conversation,” Byrd said, referring to Tuesday’s events.