Welcome back to a Potomac Local News series, “Meet Prince William.”
We’ve started this series so Prince William County residents can get to know the important people working behind the scenes to make the county run smoothly and efficiently. This is an opportunity to learn from experts on the county. Potomac Local has asked each leader the same questions in bold, and their respective answers will be found below.
Today, get to know Tauheeda Yasin Martin, Ph.D., the Office of Community Safety director. Yasin has been the director since May 2025, after having started with the department in 2023. She most recently served as a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas at Austin. In years past, she was a lecturer and researcher at George Mason University — where she is now an affiliate faculty member — as well as an assistant dean and professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
What experiences and roles have shaped your approach to community safety, and how did they prepare you for leading the Office of Community Safety?
I’ve been a public servant since 2004, developing programming and initiatives across sectors including education, humanitarian and justice. I’ve worked closely with individuals, institutions and organizations to shape and understand systems in New York City, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia and internationally in the Netherlands and with Global South organizations doing civic and development work.My experiences have shaped my vision for safety that places emphasis on community and the need for investments that foster human connectivity and resilience. When we have strong bonds of community, people have the tools to weather a crisis and bounce back.
If there’s one thing you wish every resident understood about the Office of Community Safety, what would it be?
Each and every resident is community safety — safety doesn’t begin when you need to call 911. It begins in knowing your neighbors, checking in on each other. Our office is here to foster connectivity and to support the systems that function behind the scenes when there is a crisis, and after as individuals and communities recover.
Some of the most significant safety concerns are related to traffic and pedestrian safety and are preventable through behavioral change. Wearing a seatbelt, not texting and driving, making sure you’re not driving under the influence or speeding are ways we begin to foster safer mobility in the county. When walking outside at night, make sure you’re wearing light or reflective clothing, so motorists see you.We are working with the county’s Department of Transportation to try to address these behavioral changes. Generally speaking, through the county’s 4-year strategic plan, we are developing more coordinated systems to address the safety needs of the community using data to inform our intervention and prevention efforts.
Can you share any key prevention or intervention initiatives that the Office is currently working on or preparing to launch?
Currently, our office is supporting initiatives around the strategic plan for the county within the Safe and Secure Community quadrant. We’re developing data pipelines that allow us to home in on key prevention and intervention opportunities across transportation safety, coordinated response efforts during crisis and neighborhood risk mitigation. We have programming underway to strengthen our domestic violence coordinated response and youth who are at-risk for gang involvement through our GRIT programming.
What role does community input play in shaping the policies and programs developed by your office?
The community plays a large role in shaping the programming being developed. Community safety is about the community, and their input is important. The office launched the Community Safety Advisory Committee last year and we had a series of listening sessions. We’re compiling everything we’ve heard over the last year and looking to create more opportunities for input as we move toward a list of recommendations that can help drive the strategic plan alignment with the county. We encourage residents to stay informed of events and opportunities and to be engaged.
Looking ahead, what are your biggest hopes or goals for the Office of Community Safety?
My goal for the office is that in the next year we bring awareness to the community about the Office of Community Safety and the role we play behind the scenes in data and information sharing and process improvement. We also want to create strong mechanisms for community to interface with our office through neighborhood pop-ups and events.We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Invite us to your next event or meeting. We’d love to tell you more about our office, and how we can work together to foster a safer PWC!
