Transforming US public safety through resident-powered crime prevention

Problem

As media attention to crime has intensified, Americans’ fear of crime has reached a three-decade high. While concern is widespread, the impact is unequal. Violence is concentrated in small pockets of cities, where residents in low-income communities of color are 15 times more likely to be victimized than those in wealthier areas but three times less likely to receive help. Public officials, community leaders and police chiefs are increasingly embracing a range of community programs to address this problem, from  community violence interrupters which train residents in mediation to reduce street violence to mental health response programs that support peer health workers in helping those in crisis. These programs can stop cycles of violence and serve as a complement to law enforcement. Yet, they lack the readiness, flexible resources and government support needed to achieve impact at scale. Despite early successes, they have yet to become a lasting part of cities’ public safety ecosystems.

Big Idea

The Community Based Public Safety Collective (CBPSC) and the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) believe that true public safety begins within communities. They’ve teamed up to launch Scaling Safety, an initiative to support the development of effective community-based prevention programs that empower residents and prevent crisis from becoming crime. Scaling Safety will act as an accelerator for promising interventions already happening at the grassroots level and, through technical know-how and flexible financial support to strengthen organizations and deep municipal advocacy to unlock public dollars and build government support, they will expand a range of “resident-powered prevention programs” that train residents to act as conflict mediators, peer counselors, victim advocates and more. By equipping organizations and leaders with resources and skills to grow their impact and secure recognition, they aim to save lives, heal neighborhoods and lay the foundation for a new approach to public safety.

Plan

Over the next five years, Scaling Safety will invest in a range of resident-powered prevention programs in five major US cities: Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Jackson, Mississippi; Miami, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona. The goal is for these programs to double access to crisis assistance and support for the most vulnerable residents, reduce violence by up to 50%, and improve life for the over 2.5 million people who live in these areas overall. Scaling Safety will achieve this by giving local grassroots organizations technical support, as well as the flexible resources they need to sustain their operations and scale. Through strong advocacy, Scaling Safety aims to make these programs a permanent part of city safety strategies across the country, while building evidence of their effectiveness and developing a blueprint for a new, inclusive approach to safety.

Why will it Succeed?

CBPSC and ASJ have over 15 years of experience pioneering new approaches to public safety. CBPSC is the national expansion of the Newark Community Street Team, which helped Newark, New Jersey, once one of the 10 most violent US cities, reduce homicides by 50% in five years. Since launching, CBSP has provided technical assistance to over 150 organizations across 60 cities, including Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where their support helped reduce violence by 25%. ASJ has won 150 policy reforms to support victims of violence, established 54 trauma recovery centers across the US and unlocked more than $3 billion in public funding for community safety programs. CBPSC knows how to build resident-based safety strategies in neighborhoods and ASJ knows how to forge relationships with the public sector and move money. Together, they are working to grow a whole new workforce of resident-powered prevention programs that can complement law enforcement and stop cycles of harm.