The Future of Public Safety is Now

What is safety? For centuries elected officials and lawmakers nationwide have grounded the notion of safety in police, prosecutions, and prisons. But are these truly the foundations of safety?  When we explore the idea of safety more deeply, we understand that the traditional meaning — based on the absence of harm, danger, or injury —… Continue reading The Future of Public Safety is Now

Newark PD Public Safety Awards

For the first time, Newark officials expanded the Public Safety Awards Ceremony to recognize more than just the police department in the quest to build safer communities. EJUSA’s Will Simpson, our director of violence reduction initiatives, was just one of three honorees who is a member of the EJUSA family.  “The award really belongs to… Continue reading Newark PD Public Safety Awards

A Passion for Serving and Healing

There have been two constants in Donna Roman Hernandez’s life: trauma and a deep desire to help people. Both elements are deeply entwined. Donna served her community for 30 years as a police officer in New Jersey, retiring as a captain having commanded a domestic violence response team and police in-service domestic violence training unit.… Continue reading A Passion for Serving and Healing

The Government Wanted to Kill Me

Credit: The Innocence Project/ Phelan Ebanhack

In his own words, Clemente Aguirre describes how he spent almost 15 years on death row in Florida for a crime he didn’t commit. I know the torture of fighting against a government that wanted to kill me. The state saw me as just a disposable, undocumented immigrant, and I lost almost 15 years of… Continue reading The Government Wanted to Kill Me

EJUSA Applauds NJ’s $10mm Investment in Violence Prevention

Equal Justice USA has been working with a coalition of organizations who are on the ground in several New Jersey communities driving innovative programs and interventions that are reducing violence. Today’s announcement is a critical step toward growing that work and delivering true public safety to communities. “We are on the verge of a new… Continue reading EJUSA Applauds NJ’s $10mm Investment in Violence Prevention

Are Life Sentences a Merciful Alternative to the Death Penalty?

Reimagining Justice This Month: March 2021 Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Are Life Sentences a Merciful Alternative to the Death Penalty?, Mother Jones Virginia’s recent repeal of the death penalty was both a reckoning with a… Continue reading Are Life Sentences a Merciful Alternative to the Death Penalty?

A city’s commitment to understanding trauma to prevent violence

Protesters gather in Newark, New Jersey. June 2020. Image by Kalani Mackson [https://www.afrolombian.com/a-fight-for-change]

Reimagining Justice This Month | February 2021 Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Evaluation Reports Newark Community Street Team’s Efforts are Effective in Crime Reduction, TAPintoNewark Few cities have done as much as Newark, NJ, to think… Continue reading A city’s commitment to understanding trauma to prevent violence