Newark Taps Social Workers, Community To Slow Uptick In Violence

NEWARK, NJ — Violence didn’t begin overnight in New Jersey’s largest city. And it’s not going to end overnight, either, authorities say.

This was the message from Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara on Tuesday evening, as he laid out a plan to reduce violence in the city for the rest of 2021. The announcement comes as Newark grapples with a recent uptick in gun violence and other violent crimes.

“The problem of gun violence is a complex issue,” O’Hara said. “We didn’t get into this problem overnight and it’s not going to be resolved overnight. However, we will do everything in our power to end this year on a high note, and with a sense of safety and wellbeing for all our residents.”

“We are fortunate that our police officers are working extremely hard and putting in long hours to recover illegal guns,” O’Hara said. “The result has been a record number of illegal guns recovered from our streets, the most since 2006, despite having a police force that is a fraction of the size it was in 2006.”

But there’s still more to be done, he added – hence the new Violence Reduction Initiative.

O’Hara broke the new plan down into three parts: operational, investigative and juvenile. Details include:

OPERATIONAL - “[The Newark Police Department] has deployed new officers, assigned to the Community Focus Unit, to provide increased police presence in the city’s downtown area and to augment patrols in neighborhoods where there has been a concentration of criminal activity.”

INVESTIGATIVE – “The number of personnel dedicated to investigate and to prevent shootings—namely members of the Shooting Response Team and Criminal Intelligence Unit—has both been increased by 30 percent to produce faster closeouts of shooting investigations. As a result, there have been 7 shooting arrests this week and six illegal guns recovered. Further, Newark Police have assigned a liaison to the Jersey City Police Department/Hudson Essex Advanced Technology (HEAT) Unit to leverage additional technologies and resources to aid in gun violence investigations. Newark police officers will be provided with cell phones that offer access to ShotSpotter and the city’s surveillance cameras. Police will also increase use of its helicopter and drone for crime deterrence.”

JUVENILE – “The juvenile component of the Violence Reduction Initiative will involve referring delinquent juvenile to social workers for assistance. Police will also partner with the Brick City Peace Collective for youth engagement as well as HUB Arts & Trauma Center, which offers therapeutic activities to keep juveniles engaged in positive activities. The initiative also includes Youth Court, in how our Juvenile Unit deals with stationhouse adjustments, and offering School Safe Passage, with increased police patrols near schools and use of Fire Division personnel in those areas and School Resource Officers in and around schools.”

“The expectation that Newark police alone can fix this problem is unrealistic,” O’Hara said. “Thankfully, through our partnership with the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, Newark social workers will address the root causes of this gun violence, which is currently impacting every major city in America — with some cities this year and last year recording the highest number of homicides ever.”

• See related article: Newark Police Recruits, Social Workers Graduate Side-By-Side

The Violence Reduction Initiative will involve Newark police working closely with federal, state and county law enforcement partners. Police will also seek the assistance of community stakeholders, including the Newark Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, the Newark Community Street Team and the Newark Street Academy to get ahead of “retaliatory violence.”

The residents who live in Newark also have a part to play, he added.

“This initiative requires the support of every concerned citizen who will voice outrage at the senseless violence occurring on our streets and will report crime when they see it happening in their neighborhoods,” O’Hara said.

“The bottom line is we want the community to know that reducing gun violence is our utmost priority, and that we have multiple strategies in place aimed at violence reduction,” O’Hara said.

• See related article: Newark Committing $19M To Help Curb Violence In The City
• See related article: It's Time To Reimagine Policing In Newark, Advocates Say
• See related article: Healing From Violence: Newark Youth Find Refuge At 'The Hubb'

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