For Immediate Release:
MAYOR BOOKER, U.S. SENATOR LAUTENBERG AND CONGRESSMAN PAYNE ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $2 MILLION
FOR COMMUNITY-BASED CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAM IN NEWARK
Federal Funding Will Put Four Community Police Officers On The Beat In High Crime Neighborhoods, Provide New Opportunities For At-Risk Youth And Reduce Crime In Newark
Newark, NJ – September 19, 2011 – Mayor Cory A. Booker, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ-10), Council President Donald M. Payne, Jr., Newark Office of Prisoner Reentry Chair Ingrid Johnson, Deputy Mayor for Economic and Housing Development Stefan Pryor and Police Director Samuel A. DeMaio announced today at a press conference today that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded Newark a $2,196,085 three-year grant for an innovative community-based violence prevention program in Newark. The press conference was held at the City of Newark’s Police/Fire Communications Center at 311 Washington Street. Also in attendance were Council Member-at-Large Carlos M. Gonzalez, South Ward Council member Ras Baraka, and Business Administrator Julien X. Neals.
"This federal funding will put community police officers on the beat in high crime neighborhoods, provide new opportunities for at-risk youth and reduce crime in Newark," said Senator Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, which funds this program. "As resources for law enforcement are being slashed in New Jersey and around the country, I will continue working in the Senate to provide federal support to reduce crime in Newark and throughout New Jersey."
"I am pleased that federal resources have been made available to support Newark's violence prevention program, one that focuses on preventing violence by mobilizing residents, community leaders and the youth to address the underlying issues that feed crime. This initiative recognizes that we must create pipelines for success- not pathways to jail," stated Congressman Donald M. Payne.
"We are grateful to Senator Frank Lautenberg for his tireless work to secure us this vitally important grant," stated Mayor Cory Booker. "Senator Lautenberg has been an outstanding advocate for Newark and its needs. This grant will go a long way to helping us address crime in Newark and its underlying causes. Working together with our federal partners and the support of our entire community, we will continue to build a stronger, safer, and prouder Newark."
The grant will fund an innovative program with both policing and social service components that will target geographic "hotspots" - small geographic neighborhoods suffering from higher levels of violent crime. Funding will be invested in putting four new community police officers on the beat to take the role of the neighborhood "beat cops" that will engage residents and develop relationships to build trust between the community and the police.
“This grant is exciting for us because it fits right in with what we’ve been talking about this entire summer – a community-based policing strategy. It’s going to give people an opportunity to put their lives in a positive direction and get the services they need to do so. It’s certainly a great day for the Police Department and the entire city,” said Director DeMaio.
In addition, the funding will help build a partnership between the Newark Police Department and the Office of Prisoner Reentry to address violence with a focus on the highest-risk population between ages 16 and 30. The program will provide community outreach and case management services to high risk individuals, provide them with transitional jobs, and assist in long-term job placement. The program will be modeled after two highly successful evidence-based crime reduction strategies - the Boston and Chicago Ceasefire models - and tailor them to Newark's distinctive needs and communities.
“This grant will help stave off the plague of violence that has riddled our community over the past several years. I really want to thank Senator Lautenberg for the support he has given our city and want to commend the Office of Reentry team for their hard work in applying for this grant. What is so exciting about this grant is that it doesn’t just focus on police arrests, but providing opportunities to prevent arrests from happening in the first place. These 16-30s have to choose a side, and we will give them an opportunity and a chance to be successful,” said Council President Payne.
Partners in the program include the faith-based community, community members, community-based social service agencies, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, Newark Public Schools, Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, John Jay College, and the State Parole Board.
“This grant is going to bring in money that will support a community-based violence reduction project. It is a program that takes an innovative approach to crime prevention. Part of that innovation lies in a unique partnership forged between the City of Newark’s Police Department and Office of Prisoner Reentry, an initiative that is part of the Department of Economic and Housing Development. The Mayor has been the innovative dynamic force behind our program and I would like to thank Senator Lautenberg for his work on the Appropriations Committee – without his leadership, grants like this would not be possible,” said Ms. Johnson.
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