Six Newark, NJ, residents and five police officers sit in a semi-circle in a local community center. They’re listening as a Black man, mid forties, recounts a tale of being hit in the head by a police officer as a teenager while hanging out with his friends after school. As he finishes his story, he… Continue reading What Is Trauma-Informed Policing?
Tag: Police
Sub-issue / Audience
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
A Review of Who We Are
Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, a focal point during the Civil Rights Movement, I had been to museums and monuments around the city that honor activists and organizers from the sixties. I’ve read every plaque, and I know every story where a Black person was denied access to a building during segregation. The steps leading… Continue reading A Review of Who We Are
A Personal Experience with Trauma to Trust
When someone joins the EJUSA team, the organization works to get them to Trauma to Trust quickly to experience the exploration of trauma and its impact on people and communities. My turn came in the fall of 2021. I hit the road, in central New Jersey, at 6 a.m. to get to the training center in… Continue reading A Personal Experience with Trauma to Trust
Newark: In This Together
In 2014, I was leading police training for Newark, NJ, when Mayor Ras Baraka took office. This was a crucial juncture for Newark Police Department (NPD). A recession plus a surge in retirements had decimated the department. But that wasn’t the only problem. Before my role at the Police Academy, I worked in Internal Affairs… Continue reading Newark: In This Together
Defund the Police? What it really means and how we get there: an EJUSA primer
The New EJUSA Website!
I’m so proud to kick off 2020 with two big announcements. First, EJUSA is turning 30 years old this year! And we’re celebrating this milestone with this new website! The site is a declaration of our bold vision for justice reimagined. With your support, we’re transforming what justice is. We’re rejecting mass incarceration, executions, police… Continue reading The New EJUSA Website!
Centering Trauma, Healing Communities
For generations, communities of color have experienced deep mistrust of police, resulting from years of institutional racism and violence. Only after the 2014 police murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Ezell Ford, all within a month of each other, did discussions of police violence and accountability become a part of the larger national conscience.… Continue reading Centering Trauma, Healing Communities
Exposing Trauma to Heal
Over 500 police and community members have completed in EJUSA’s Trauma to Trust program. Click here to learn more and participate. Summer sunlight poured through tall windows into the community room of a historic Newark building this past June. Long tables formed something like a horseshoe, with chairs lining the outer perimeter. A large projection… Continue reading Exposing Trauma to Heal
Fall 2019, From Trauma to Trust: Police and Community Collaborative Training
This fall, Equal Justice USA is continuing to lead an effort to facilitate healing and build trust between the community and police with a goal of better responses to trauma in the wake of violence. A team of facilitators will be leading trainings on trauma-informed responses to violence with the Newark Police Department and Newark… Continue reading Fall 2019, From Trauma to Trust: Police and Community Collaborative Training