There was a time not so long ago when Newark, like many other cities, was plagued with extraordinary violence, deep-seated poverty, and ailing social systems.
To look at Newark today is to see a city in resurgence, lifted by its proud, resilient people. At the heart of this evolution is a fierce hunger for safety — a safety defined by thriving neighborhoods and not just the absence of violence. The Future of Public Safety is a report that describes Newark’s community-based ecosystem of public safety, identifying and engaging with key components of its systems of support. In particular, we document how Newarkers have leveraged the power and possibility of their personal stories and connections, as well as those of the community at large, to break local cycles of trauma and violence from a perspective of healing and reconciliation.
Leaders across the nation, and the media, have noticed the city’s trajectory, but the stories about Newark are almost always about one or two aspects of the work. In fact, what has happened in Newark — especially over the last eight years — is much more significant. This report describes Newark’s community-based ecosystem of public safety, identifying and engaging with key components of its systems of support. In particular, we document how Newarkers have leveraged the power and possibility of their experience and connections, as well as those of the community at large, to break local cycles of trauma and violence through healing and reconciliation.
An ecosystem, by definition, is a complex arrangement of interdependent parts. It is also constantly evolving, changing, reacting to different conditions. That certainly feels true in the case of Newark. An ecosystem does not just appear. Distinct roots find fertile ground. In Newark’s case, a deep love of community drove residents to become activists and plant some of the first roots, like the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition.
Mayor Ras J. Baraka brought leadership, a vision for the role healing could play, and a will to invest in the vision by instilling power in the people. And the people embraced that power, exemplified in the way the Newark Community Street Team paved the path to the city’s historic Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery. NCST organized community members, leaders, and organizations, including Equal Justice USA, to pressure city council to move $12 million of the public safety budget to establish the agency.
We represent just two of the many organizations that share a mission to center community in the pursuit of true public safety. Each organization is advancing an element of the ecosystem that makes people safe, fosters healing, and prevents violence. The solutions to the inherent causes of violence aren’t new; they have existed for years and they work.
Before the pandemic undermined the nation’s social support systems, Newark had reached a historic low in murders with a 51% decrease since 2015. The city also has experienced a dramatic decline in most other forms of serious crime and violence — while avoiding the more pronounced bounce back seen around much of the country (pp ). But we are excited and driven to be in partnership with all the organizations and initiatives in this report, as well as the Newark Police Division, to strive for greater heights of public safety.
This report happened because of our shared commitment to and responsibility for community-based public safety. Between January and March of 2022, our collective group — led by researchers committed to the vision of this ecosystem — talked to community members involved in landmark campaigns and activism, nonprofit leaders, grassroots organizers, city government officials, police officers, and representatives of academic institutions. The researchers also observed several instances of collective deliberation on public safety issues including the South Ward Public Safety Roundtable and the Newark Public Safety Collaborative. We supplemented these efforts with a group workshop in which we co-hosted a dozen community members and organizers to articulate more fully the ecosystem’s strategies.
We hope this report makes it clear that Newark’s public safety ecosystem is not a finished project. We think it is special — and that it could represent something of a blueprint for other cities invested in their communities and open to the idea that community members best understand the solutions to violence that threaten their collective well-being.
We firmly believe that this ecosystem, and others that develop, need attention and funding. There’s no question that crime and violence have rebounded in this pandemic environment. It is frustrating to see so many leaders call for measures — primarily more police and punishment — that don’t deliver safety, especially to Black and Brown communities.
But there is hope. Leaders at all levels of government are making historic investments in the strategies at the core of this community-based public safety ecosystem. They are a fraction of the amount we spend on traditional approaches to crime and violence, and there is far too much ground that lacks the roots. But there is a clear momentum. We must build on it to make community-led violence intervention more accessible and sustainable.
And we must carry on the work in Newark’s ecosystem, which can grow stronger and encompass more of the community’s needs. As much as this document might be a blueprint, it is also a promise to keep tending the roots of healing and repair so that Newark’s ecosystem continues to grow and thrive.
Jamila Hodge
Equal Justice USA
Aqeela Sherrills
Newark Community Street Team
Community-Based Public Safety Collaborative