Newark Police Recruits, Social Workers Graduate Side-By-Side

NEWARK, NJ — Newark just swore in dozens of new cops and employed 10 social workers. And they’ll be working together to protect the city, officials say.

On Wednesday, city officials held a graduation ceremony for 67 Newark police recruits, who began their training in March. The diverse class of recruits includes 20 African American, 32 Hispanic and 15 white officers.

During a ceremony at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 10 social workers recently employed with the city also got a warm welcome. They’ll be working alongside the new officers – and the veterans – providing services such as crisis intervention, mediation and referrals to crime victims and others affected by violence.

The new social workers, all of whom are women, will get specialized training from the Newark Department of Public Safety.

While Newark has been employing social workers for years, the latest group is likely a welcome sight for many advocates, who have been calling for reform when it comes to policing in the city – and how their tax dollars are spent.

• See related article: Newark Will Take $12M From Police, Reinvest In Social Services

“These police officers become part of one of the finest police divisions in this nation,” Mayor Ras Baraka said, congratulating this week's graduates.

Each new officer will join a police force that's not the same as it was just five or six years ago, he added.

"We have a police division that’s changing, and it’s changing for the better," Baraka said. "This is the first time in the history of this city that we’ve graduated social workers on the same stage with police. Our social workers are charged with helping us to create an atmosphere of safety in our communities. So, we welcome them and we believe their job is just as important as being a police officer."

Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara said policing is a profession that is stressful and comes with a wide array of social problems that police don't create — but are nonetheless expected to solve.

"I thank Mayor Baraka for taking this step of adding social workers to help serve as guardians in our community and to help ease some of the burdens that police officers deal with daily," O’Hara said. "It’s absolutely unprecedented and it’s incredibly beneficial to all 311,000 residents of our city."

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