At the risk of stating the obvious, community must be at the heart of a community-centered public safety ecosystem. The diversification of public safety demands not only funding people’s organizing processes but endorsing and sustaining participation platforms that are accessible and always active so that community concerns and needs consistently surface.

In Newark, roundtables have been a key feature to determine the most suitable mechanisms to hear and respond to social demands. These spaces started in person around 2016, localized in each ward. An example is the South Ward Public Safety Roundtable that meets biweekly and gathers community members, local officials, and police officers.

There is always a mediator in these spaces. The Newark Community Street Team and Equal Justice USA have led the meetings, mediating parts, facilitating the agendas, collecting key issues, and communicating concerns to specific actors and discussing key matters.

Participation provides community with a space for accountability and direct interaction with law enforcement and key city leaders. And there’s another key benefit: connection. Key law enforcement officials participate and deliver the information of weekly events and crime trends. Data informs the problems and the needs. Yet these are spaces that also feel personal, because debates on crime and equality are personal.

The connection comes in a human form: Sometimes heated exchanges allow subsequent moments of admiration. Inquiring remarks and authentic questioning turn into acknowledgment. This creates an environment where belonging to and ownership of a movement for safety and healing can thrive.