The most critical thing to understand about the Newark Community Street Team, or NCST, is that it is the first large-scale community-based effort focused on community violence intervention that is not connected with any sort of government structure, university, institution, or larger organization. Instead, this is an organization that, since its inception in 2015, has belonged entirely to the community; resident input and participation were – and are – integral to its structure, functioning, and overall purpose. As one resident and community organizer explained:

This is our organization – not a government organization, not a police organization, but a community organization. They belong to us and we belong to them. There is no one telling us what to do – we are the ones doing it.

Read the full evaluation here

Read the proof of concept here