New Evaluation by UCLA Finds the Model Effective and Adaptive Because of Its Roots in the Community and the Strength of Its Staff

Newark (February 19, 2021) – The Newark Community Street Team (NCST) has effectively decreased crime while increasing community trust as well as public safety, according to a three-year evaluation conducted by the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership.

Between 2016 to 2020, Newark experienced a record low number of homicides, reaching a six decade all-time low. This reduction has occurred during the same time period NCST has been in existence. NCST has also had an impact on public safety and community well-being.

The Newark Community Street Team Narrative Evaluation documents the origins and development of the NCST model, its successful implementation and charts the evolution of NCST as it moved from a pilot project to a promising practice to a national model. The report also documents the rigorous NCST training and the development of the successful public safety roundtables.

“Anyone who wants to better understand the origins of NCST and the work we do every day should read this evaluation, “ said Aqeela Sherrills, Director of NCST. “The researchers at UCLA spent the time needed to tell the story of our innovative, community-based approach to violence prevention and the impact we’re having on public safety and neighborhood well-being.”

Started in 2014 by community members, NCST was formalized by Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s Newark’s community-based violence reduction strategy. NCST hires, trains and deploys Outreach workers and High Risk Interventionists in the South and West Wards of Newark. These non-traditional community leaders, including those who have been formerly incarcerated and those who have been engaged in the drug trade, are trained as mentors and interventionists. They support at risk youth and young adults 14-30 years old through a case management model.

The evaluation notes that NCST has not stayed rigidly fixed on its initial strategies but instead has responded to community needs with the intentional development of new approaches and services, including:

  • Safe Passage program in hot spot neighborhoods where NCST Outreach Workers develop relationships with the youth and their parents, intervene in and mediate potential conflicts, and ensure that students arrive to and from school safely,
  • Public Safety Roundtables bringing law enforcement, city staff and community members together twice a month,
  • wellness evaluation and therapeutic counseling in partnership with the Department of Health and Community Wellness,
  • support through the application process for the Victims Compensation Fund connecting survivors of crimes with support services, and
  • employment and education referrals, in partnership with Newark Jobs Connect.

The Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose stated his support for the efforts of the NCST, explaining, “When there is a problem we call them. Their work fills a void that cannot be filled by the police department.”

In 2020, the City of Newark passed an ordinance to reallocate 5% of the police budget to a new Office of Violence Prevention. As part of the reinvesment, Mayor Baraka explained, “We want to keep people out of jail while we create opportunities where they can grow. We need trauma-informed care and community round tables, but all of this takes time. Violence is a public health issue and we need to deal with it the way we dealt with polio – we have to change how we intervene, otherwise people are more than likely to catch this disease of violence and suffer even more.”

Some of the findings of the evaluation conducted by the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership include:

  • NCST’s Outreach Workers and High Risk Interventionists are well trained professionals from the community who are committed to creating peace and preventing violence.
  • NCST helps to build community capacity. While focusing on community wellness and de-escalating violence, NCST also builds a sense of collective efficacy.
  • The relationships between NCST and law enforcement have improved over time, largely due to the strengthening of the model and its implementation, but there is still work to do.
  • Strong and stable relationships are critical to the success of NCST. It is as a case manager, identifying and managing a caseload of five to seven youth and young adults, that the Outreach Worker truly expands the purpose and impact of NCST.
  • Outreach Workers expressed concern about youth and young adults being able to sustain themselves once case management ended. They emphasized the critical need for resources in the community, including for services that focus on the mental health needs for the community.
  • Outreach Workers and High Risk Interventionists deserve financial stability and health benefits for the critical work they are doing.
  • The Newark Community Street Team should continue to be funded and developed as a national best practice, and there must be a dedicated line item in the city and/or state budget to fund NCST in the years ahead. It should be a permanent part of city services.

“The lessons learned here are meaningful for Newark and all communities intent on dealing with the root causes of violence and the implementation of new models that integrate social justice with public safety,” said Dr. Jorja Leap, Adjunct Professor, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and Executive Director, Social Justice Research Partnership.

The evaluation research was guided by the effort to better understand how NCST functions as violence prevention and public safety organization, and drew upon time spent with leadership and staff from NCST as well residents, community-based non-profit organizations, law enforcement, and elected officials. The research was conducted over three years from March 2017 to January 2020.

This report serves as the foundation for the next step of evaluation by the team at UCLA: systematically interpreting crime data that NCST has access to through its partnership with the Newark Police Department and the Safer Newark Council. Most significantly, this evaluation will assist in future efforts to replicate this model in other national settings, validating the Newark Community Street Team as a public health-community safety Best Practice.

“All of the individuals observed and interviewed in depth represented a consensus view that the most important achievement of NCST was enabling individuals and families to experience a deep sense of safety in their neighborhoods,” added Dr. Leap.

The UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership (SJRP) is a cross-disciplinary research, evaluation and policy collaborative, composed of a multi-ethnic staff with varied educational backgrounds and areas of expertise. Established in 2012, the SJRP engages in community based participatory research that is committed to the rigorous and authentic portrayal of the thoughts, beliefs and voice of individuals and communities, with researchers embedded in any environment being studied.

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