The Research and Evaluation Center worked in partnership with the Urban Institute to help the National League of Cities and its Institute for Youth, Education, and Families in supporting five U.S. cities as they worked to reimagine their approaches to public safety. The Municipalities Reimagining Community Safety initiative was supported by the Wells Fargo Foundation. The NLC initiative convened elected leaders and staff, residents, and local organizations to pursue coordinated, equitable, and community-centered public safety efforts. John Jay College researchers measured perceptions of the effort in each city. (Preliminary Survey Results)
JohnJayREC served as the research partner for the initiative, helping NLC assess each city’s efforts to:
• Support local leaders in the creation and implementation of comprehensive safety/violence prevention plans, and
• Develop and implement programs and policies aligned with the plan and local priorities.
Final Results
Final Report: “Reimagining Community Safety: Perceptions of Policy and Practice in Five Cities” (2024). The Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) designed a three-wave survey focused on measuring the perceptions of local stakeholders involved in public safety efforts in each city participating in the NLC initiative. Results highlighted stakeholder opinions about the efficacy and equity of each city’s approaches to crime prevention and community well-being. Researchers explored trends across and within cities to assess the effects and success of the MRCS initiative.
Core Staff
Patricia Cobar (Partnership Manager), Kathy Tomberg (Project Director), Fidel Osorio (Data Analyst), Jeffrey A. Butts (PI), Rebecca Balletto, and Rhoda Ramdeen
Total Funding
$300,000. National League of Cities.
Project Period
2022-2024