June 25, 2020—The Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP) contributed to a double digit drop in misdemeanors and a significant drop in seven major felonies at the 15 public housing developments where it was implemented when compared to other NYCHA housing, according to a new study released by the Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) at John Jay College, part of the City University of New York.

The study found that misdemeanors against persons declined in MAP areas by 15.4% compared to 2.2% in non-MAP areas. For the category of seven major felonies the drop was 6.3% for MAP areas, compared to 3.6% for non-MAP areas. (View full report at https://johnjayrec.nyc/2020/06/25/mapupdate5/)

“We are encouraged to find these results present promising evidence that public safety can be enhanced when city governments collaborate with communities and their residents," said Sheyla Delgado, Deputy Director for Analytics for JohnJayREC and lead author of the report.

“For years, our office has seen and heard the impact that ‘community-first’ approaches to public safety have in the lived experiences of residents participating in the path-breaking Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety,” said Elizabeth Glazer, director of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice. “This latest study from the John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center affirms what experience and common sense tell us: residents are the experts in what makes their neighborhoods safe and must play the leading role, supported by government, in realizing it. We are grateful to the JohnJayREC for their ongoing commitment to evaluating this important initiative that makes a measurable difference in the lives of thousands of New Yorkers.”

As a part of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the MAP initiative is designed to improve the safety and wellbeing of residents in public housing developments operated by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Researchers measured crime trends in developments participating in MAP and compared them with other housing developments, and found statistically significant improvements in those served by MAP.

“The premise for the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety is that investing in the health and wellbeing of communities to improve safety is a meaningful strategy,” said Executive Director of the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety Renita Francois. “In this historic moment where calls to invest in communities ring loudly, we’re proud to have shown and proven that our residents’ voices should be the cornerstone of our City's safety. We thank John JayREC for their thorough study of our work and the impact it has on the residents who are creating change for their neighborhoods.”

This is the fifth of six Evaluation Updates reporting interim results from John Jay College’s evaluation of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP). The study analyzes public safety outcomes in 17 public housing developments participating in the MAP initiative and finds meaningful and sometimes statistically significant improvements.

About the John Jay College Research Evaluation Center
The John Jay College Research and Evaluation Center (JohnJayREC) is an applied research organization within John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. The Center provides members of the academic community with opportunities to respond to the research needs of justice practitioners in New York City, New York State, and the nation. At any given time, the Center is working on several projects to discover, test, and improve programs and policies in the justice system. The Center operates under the supervision of John Jay College’s Office for the Advancement of Research.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: 
An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York is a Hispanic Serving Institution and Minority Serving Institution offering a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. John Jay is home to faculty and research centers at the forefront of advancing criminal and social justice reform. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College engages the theme of justice and explores fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu and follow us on Twitter @JohnJayCollege.