It’s Time To Reimagine Policing In Newark, Advocates Say

NEWARK, NJ — A seismic shift in the way people think about policing and crime is just around the bend. And in Newark, it will include concepts like “civilian oversight,” “reentry services” and “conflict resolution,” local advocates say.

The Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) and its policy advocacy initiative, My Brother’s Keeper Newark (MBKN), in partnership with the office of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Equal Justice USA, recently released a report: “Reimagining Public Safety in Newark.”

The study, which chronicles the history of Newark from before the 1967 Rebellion to present day, details the impact of Newark’s 2014 federal consent decree and the Newark Department of Public Safety’s push to enact a series of reforms in its wake.

Are the reforms taken in Newark paying off? Yes, according to Mayor Ras Baraka.

“By law enforcement and the community strategically working together, Newark’s crime rates are the lowest they have been in decades,” Baraka said.

“Homicides are down 38% from 2013 to 2019, carjacking is down 84%, and the overall crime is the lowest it has been in 50 years,” Baraka added. “I am proud of the progress we have made, and simultaneously recognize that we have more work to do.”

According to Robert Clark, CEO of NOYN, it’s time to evolve the approach to policing in Newark and start thinking in terms of “prevention” – not “reaction.”

In other words, it’s time to cut the pipeline off at the source, he said.

“Whether it’s school discipline policies, stationhouse adjustments, or community-based violence prevention, a reimagined system of public safety can be our legacy to the next generation,” Clark said.

The report speaks to how community-based violence prevention programs have been used as a tool in Newark to create a more “holistic and trauma-informed response” to crime and public safety.

Some of its main recommendations include:

• Creating a civilian oversight body - with subpoena power - to review allegations of police misconduct
• Strengthening community-based reentry services that provide education, job training, and wrap-around supports
• Developing stationhouse adjustment policies and other alternatives to arrest for young people
• Investing in initiatives designed to prevent violence and peacefully resolve conflict
• Restoring mandatory civics courses in public school that empowers community members to hold elected officials responsible
• Incorporating conflict resolution and restorative justice into teachers’ professional development
• Allowing municipalities to enact residency requirements for public employees
• Mandating body cameras for all police officers - uniformed and plain clothed

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