Reimagine Public Safety Pledge Workshops

As part of the Reimagine Public Safety Pledge, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and our partner organizations are hosting a series of workshops to assist local leaders with standing up and sustaining community-centered approaches to crime and violence prevention. If you have questions about these events, please reach out to the John Jay College team at ReimaginePublicSafety@jjay.cuny.edu.
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Workshops

Launch Event

The Reimagine Public Safety Pledge was launched on April 18, 2023. The event opened with statements from Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome (Baton Rouge, LA) and Chief Chad Kasmar (Tucson, AZ) and featured an expert panel discussion with the leaders of the Pledge partner organizations:

  • Valerie Jarret: CEO of The Barack Obama Foundation
  • Karol Mason: President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice
  • Maya Wiley: President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
  • Anthony Smith: Executive Director of Cities United

 

Workshop 1: Key Elements of Successful Community Violence Intervention Strategies

In this workshop, participants will learn the features of CVI programs that have resulted in positive outcomes for the communities in which they’ve been implemented as well as receive guidance on how to best engage stakeholders to support these programs (July 18, 2023).

  • Moderator: Anthony Smith, Executive Director, Cities United
  • Mayor Tim Kelly: Chattanooga, TN
  • Sateria Tate-Alexander: Founder, A.G.I.L.E. Planning Solutions, Inc.
  • David Kennedy, Co-Founder and Executive Director, National Network of Safe Communities
  • Aqeela Sherrills, Co-Founder, Community-Based Public Safety Collective 

Workshop 2: Institutionalizing CVI through Offices of Neighborhood Safety and Gun Violence Prevention

This workshop, Institutionalizing Community Violence Intervention through Offices of Neighborhood Safety and Gun Violence Prevention, discussed the purpose of these Offices and how to successfully establish them, including structure, staffing, service offerings, and potential funding sources. The panel featured leaders around the country who offered guidance on creating and sustaining these offices (December 13, 2023) 

  • Moderator: Erica Bond (Vice President of Justice Initiatives, John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
  • Mayor Melvin Carter (St. Paul, MN)
  • Daniela Gilbert (Director, Redefining Public Safety, Vera Institute of Justice)
  • Synethia White (Director of Strategic Initiatives, Cities United)
  • Wilford Pinkney (Director, City of St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention)
  • Chico Tillmon (Director of Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy, University of Chicago Crime Lab)

Workshop 3: Transforming the Response to Crisis Calls for Service

Millions of calls are made to 911 each year. And while this system serves a unique, important purpose, its overuse has resulted in the deployment of law enforcement to respond to incidents (such as mental illness crises) sometimes outside the scope of their training/expertise. This workshop highlighted alternative modes of crisis response and shared resources to prepare communities to fund alternative methods to public safety (May 29, 2024).

Speakers (bios available here):

  • Moderator: Bree Spencer (Senior Program Director, Justice, The Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights)
  • Mayor Cassie Franklin (Everett, Washington)
  • Tahir Duckett (Executive Director, Georgetown Law Center for Innovations in Community Safety)
  • Steve Miccio (Chief Executive Officer, People USA)
  • Joshua Reeves (Alternative First Response Consultant)

Workshop 4: Diverting People into Community

Ensuring the safety and well-being of our communities involves supporting strategies, programs, and services that address the underlying reasons that people have high rates of contact with the criminal legal system. This workshop explored different, novel ways of promoting public safety that don’t rely on arrest, prosecution, or incarceration. Instead, the discussion centered around alternatives that keep people out of the criminal legal system and allow them to remain in their community while connecting them to support services that speak to their underlying needs (August 8, 2024).

Speakers (bios available here):

  • Moderator: Rebecca Atkinson (Director of Programs and Partnerships for the Future of Public Safety Initiative)
  • District Attorney Sherry Boston (Dekalb County, Georgia)
  • Moki Macias (Executive Director, Atlanta Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative)
  • Brett Taylor (Senior Advisor for the Community Justice Team, Center for Justice Innovation)

Upcoming Workshops

Investing in Communities to Support Public Safety (November 6, 1pm EST -- Register here)

Racial Reconciliation to Heal Communities and Support Public Safety (November 20, 1pm EST -- Register here)