Public Safety

Activities Projects Publications

Yard Sign saying Speak up, stand up, show up for justice.

NNIP partners use data to advance community safety and reform of the criminal legal system. They use data to show disparities in policing and incarceration, explore the meaning of safety in communities, and work with communities to support violence prevention efforts.
Related Activities:
NNIP Partners Visualize Public Safety Budgets to Inform City Spending Decisions
September 1, 2022
The Polis Center   (Indianapolis)
Community Information Now (CI:Now)   (San Antonio)
Urban Institute   (NNIP Coordinator)


More communities are considering new public safety strategies outside of only policing and they need to understand their city’s current spending on safety to inform that... [read more]

Catalyst Grant Program: Using Data and Technology for an Equitable Justice System
December 1, 2021
Urban Institute   (NNIP Coordinator)
The Polis Center   (Indianapolis)
Innovate Memphis   (Memphis)
Urban Strategies Council   (Oakland)


The Urban Institute and the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative are... [read more]

Project RETURN
January 31, 2020 to January 31, 2022
Data You Can Use   (Milwaukee)


Project RETURN was a winner of the 2020 Data Dream Award from Data You Can Use, the Milwaukee NNIP partner. Project RETURN... [read more]

USC Price Center for Social Innovation and the Safe Communities Institute host Inaugural Convening for NDSC Criminal Justice Data Initiative
August 28, 2019
Sol Price Center for Social Innovation   (Los Angeles)


The USC Price Center for Social Innovation and the Safe Communities Institute hosted a panel discussion and community forum on August 28th as part of their new NDSC Criminial Justice Data... [read more]

New Criminal Justice Data Initiative in Los Angeles
August 15, 2019 to August 15, 2020
Sol Price Center for Social Innovation   (Los Angeles)


In partnership with Microsoft and the... [read more]

Data You Can Use Helps Residents Collect and Share Insights on Safety and Policing
December 2018
Data You Can Use   (Milwaukee)


Data You Can Use is working with Amani neighborhood residents to build their capacity around neighborhood conditions, safety, and policing. They paired the analysis of crime trends and hot spots... [read more]

Harnessing Technology and Data for Justice for St. Louis Residents
May 1, 2017
Rise   (St. Louis)


Thanks to CivTech St. Louis, residents can now easily access ticket information in St. Louis County. CivTech St. Louis is a partnership between Rise, a National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership... [read more]

Partnership with Milwaukee Police Department on Byrne Grant
2017
Data You Can Use   (Milwaukee)


The Milwaukee Police Department contracted with DATA YOU CAN USE to serve as the research partner for its three-year Byrne grant – a place-based effort to... [read more]

Project Central Voice
2016
Data You Can Use   (Milwaukee)


DATA YOU CAN USE participated in the training, interviewing and mapping for Project Central Voice, a grant from the Diversity and Inclusion Fund at the Greater Milwaukee... [read more]

Safer, Healthier, More Prosperous Milwaukee
2016
Data You Can Use   (Milwaukee)


Data You Can Use is participating in  Safer, Healthier, More Prosperous Milwaukee, which stems... [read more]

IUPR Partners with Local Shelter to Improve Resources for Domestic Violence Victims
December 2015 - May 2016
Institute for Urban Policy Research   (Dallas)


Researchers from UT Dallas are partnering with Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support and the Conference on Crimes Against Women (CCAW) in a planning grant to develop an institute and an... [read more]

Impact of Foster Care and Juvenile Justice on Future Youth Outcomes
November 6, 2015
Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development   (Cleveland)


On November 5, 2015, Dr. Claudia Coulton presented the talk "Exploring the Impact of Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Involvement on Future... [read more]

Dallas partner to speak at United Nations about structural racism against people of African descent
November 2015
Institute for Urban Policy Research   (Dallas)


The General Assembly of the United Nations has proclaimed the theme for the 2015-2024 decade: "People of African descent: recognition, justice, and development." As part of the events associated... [read more]

GlobalHack Announces First Civic Hackathon Project
September 11, 2015 to September 13, 2015
Rise   (St. Louis)


GlobalHack teams will work together with the Civic Tech for Social Impact Collaborative - including St. Louis County, Rise Community Development, and OpenDataSTL - to create... [read more]

Poverty Center and First Suburbs Consortium are Teaming Up
August 24, 2015
Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development   (Cleveland)


The Povery Center is embarking on a new project with First Suburbs Consortium, in which they'll be working with suburban communities and relevant Cuyahoga County departments to learn more about... [read more]

Southwestern Pennsylvania Community Profiles
June 5, 2015
University Center for Social and Urban Research   (Pittsburgh)


... [read more]

Several NNIP Partners Invited to White House Forum on Transparency in Policing
April 8, 2015
Institute for Urban Policy Research   (Dallas)
Urban Strategies Council   (Oakland)
The Polis Center   (Indianapolis)


The White House Domestic Policy Council, in collaboration with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation are sponsoring a discussion titled "Technology... [read more]

NNIP Partner Attends White House Forum on Transparency in Policing
April 8, 2015
Institute for Urban Policy Research   (Dallas)


The White House Domestic Policy Council, in collaboration with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation are sponsoring a discussion titled "Technology... [read more]

Data Center Contributes to Awareness of Criminal Justice Policy
February 2015
The Data Center   (New Orleans)


The Data Center has partnered closely with the Vera Institute in tracking and reporting on the decline of the jail population in New Orleans.  The work was critical in paving the way for the... [read more]

NIJ Comprehensive School Safety Initiative: Using Restorative Justice Conferencing
October 2014 - October 2016
(Inactive) The Providence Plan   (Providence)


The Central Falls School District is the grantee with the Urban Institute and ProvPlan playing major roles in terms of project evaluation and data analysis.  The NIJ project will be a large-scale... [read more]

State of Equity in Greater Boston Policy Agenda Release Event
July 11, 2014
Metropolitan Area Planning Council   (Boston)


Join equity advocates from around the region for a discussion about the region’s key equity priorities, highlighting actions that are being taken – and those that need to be taken – to create a... [read more]

Data Driven Detroit director wins Urban Affairs Association Award
March 20, 2014
Data Driven Detroit (D3)   (Detroit)


The Urban Affairs Association has presented the award for the "Best Conference Paper of 2013" to Erica Raleigh, director of Data Driven Detroit, and George Galster for their paper entitled "... [read more]

The Institute for Urban Policy Research assesses perception of safety in North Texas parks
March 2014 - December 2014
Institute for Urban Policy Research   (Dallas)


In Spring, 2014 the Dallas Police Department and The Trinity Trust, a local nonprofit, engaged the Institute for Urban Policy Research to assess community perceptions of safety in Dallas public... [read more]

Public Health-Seattle & King County Partners with Local Nonprofits to Advance Open Data
August 23, 2013
Public Health - Seattle & King County   (Seattle)


Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC), the NNIP partner organization for the Seattle area, is collaborating with other local open data organizations to make data more accessible and... [read more]

Improving Communities through Integrated Data Systems: The Effects of Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice System Involvement
June 2013 - December 2015
Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development   (Cleveland)


The Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development (CUPCD), based at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, is working with the... [read more]

Urban Strategies Council's Take on Oakland's 100 Blocks Plan
June 5, 2012
Urban Strategies Council   (Oakland)


Our 100 Blocks Analysis applied research capacity to the community’s calls for transparency on the critical issue of public safety. The Mayor's Safety Plan (2011), stated that 90% of homicides and... [read more]

Chattanooga Comprehensive Gang Assessment
May 1, 2012 to September 7, 2012
(Inactive) Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies   (Chattanooga)


This is an assessment of gangs and gang activity in the Chattanooga area. Using the Office of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention (OJJDP) guide, the assessment draws upon census, crime, and... [read more]

The Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action and the Center for Community Criminology and Research Prepare for “Safeways” Phase II Expansion
April 2012
(Inactive) Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action   (Memphis)


Originally funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice and designed by CBANA/C3R (working with the Southeast Memphis CDC and Ledic Asset Management) , “Safeways” is a data-driven... [read more]

CBANA Provides Contextual Background for Off-Broadway Hurt Village
March 10, 2012
(Inactive) Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action   (Memphis)


As the curtain closed on the March 10, 2012 performance of “Hurt Village” at the Signature Theatre at Pershing Square in New York, patrons were invited to participate in a panel discussion... [read more]

Southwest Detroit Community Court
February 21, 2012
Data Driven Detroit (D3)   (Detroit)


D3 completed a needs assessment of the Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center for the Southwest Detroit Development Collaborative. The assessment consisted of a demographic analysis of... [read more]

Urban Strategies Council Map Wins National Institute of Justice Award
October 20, 2011
Urban Strategies Council   (Oakland)


The Council was awarded the Innovation in Crime Mapping award at the recent Crime Mapping conference in Miami held by the National Institute of Justice (Part of the US Dept of Justice).   The... [read more]

CBANA Partners with the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce and Shelby County Department of Planning and Development on HUD Community Challenge Grant
September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012
(Inactive) Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action   (Memphis)


The Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action is working with the Shelby County Department of Planning and Development and the Greater Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce to evaluate... [read more]

CBANA develops Safeways crime reduction and crime prevention strategy
May 1, 2011
(Inactive) Center for Community Building and Neighborhood Action   (Memphis)


This strategy is being readied for city-wide replication and linkage with Defending Childhood and National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention  The data-driven Safeways community safety and crime... [read more]

Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance reports on the Great Recession in Baltimore Neighborhoods
December 14, 2010
Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance   (Baltimore)


BNIA-JFI provided a variety of data and resources to Public Policy students at Johns Hopkins University in their analysis of the impacts of the national recession on Baltimore’s neighborhoods. ... [read more]

Related Cross-Site Projects:
Catalyzing Community Criminal Justice Reform with Data
May 2018 - March 2020
Funder: Microsoft Criminal Justice Reform Initiative
Contact: Kathryn Pettit , kpettit@urban.org
Partners: NNIP Coordinator, Los Angeles


All people have a right to fair treatment from the U.S. criminal justice system, but bias in institutional policies and practices have resulted in racial... [read more]

Civic Tech and Data Collaborative
October 2014 - April 2018
Funder: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Contact: Kathryn Pettit , kpettit@urban.org
Partners: Boston, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Cleveland


From 2014 to 2018, the Civic Tech and Data Collaborative (CTDC) brought together local government officials, civic technologists, and community data organizations across seven communities to... [read more]

Related Publications:
Urban Health Collaborative
Philadelphia
Urban Institute
NNIP Coordinator
Collaborating with Communities Using Data
October 28, 2022
Video - By: Amy Carroll-Scott; Caroline Issacs; Rahul Jayaraman; Erikka Gilliam; Christina Brown
Sol Price Center for Social Innovation
Los Angeles
NNIP Camp October 2022: Redefining Public Safety
October 28, 2022
Meeting Materials - By: Caroline Bhalla, Los Angeles; Caroline Issacs, Tucson
DOCX
Sol Price Center for Social Innovation
Los Angeles
Building Safety in Los Angeles a Policy Agenda for Local Health and Safer Communities
September 2022
Report - By: Nicole Brown
Report
The Polis Center
Indianapolis
Who is in the Marion County Jail? Exploring Length of Stay through an Equity Lens
June 10, 2022
Report - By: SAVI
Report
Data Driven Detroit (D3)
Detroit
2020 Census: Who gets Counted in the Prison Population?
March 11, 2022
Blog post - By: Rosie Liu
Blog post
Urban Institute
NNIP Coordinator
NNIP Camp 2021: Using data and engagement for criminal justice reform
May 19, 2021
Meeting Materials - By: Kathy Pettit
DOCX


Revisiting Public Safety in 2020  
May 4, 2021
Meeting Materials - By: Elly Schoen
NNIP Week - Schoen.pptx
Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Houston
Who’s Policing the Police?: A Comparison of the Civilian Agencies that Perform Oversight of Police in Texas’ Five Largest Cities
November 19, 2020
Report - By: Stephen Averill Sherman; William Fulton
Who’s Policing the Police?: A Comparison of the Civilian Agencies that Perform Oversight of Police in Texas’ Five Largest Cities
Urban Institute
NNIP Coordinator
Sol Price Center for Social Innovation
Los Angeles
Catalyzing Policing Reform with Data
May 2020
Report - By: Ashlin Oglesby-Neal; Alena Stern; Kathryn L.S. Pettit
Link to report; Link to technical appendix; Link to interactive tool
Urban Institute
NNIP Coordinator
Interactive Tool: Catalyzing Policing Reform with Data Interactive
May 2020
Digital Feature - By: Urban Institute and Microsoft Data Science Team
Sol Price Center for Social Innovation
Los Angeles
NDSC Criminal Justice Data Initiative
October 24, 2019
Presentation - By: Caroline Bhalla
PDF
Urban Strategies Council
Oakland
Rethinking Violence Prevention in Oakland, CA
September 2019
Report - By: Urban Strategies Council
Final Report


NNIP Camp June 2019: New Policing Index and Updates on Policing Work
June 2019
Meeting Materials - By: Kathy Pettit
NNIPCampMKE_Policing.docx


Turning the Corner: Implications of Neighborhood Revitalization for Public Safety, Small Businesses, and Capital Investments
April 25, 2019
Report - By: Mychal Cohen; Kathryn L.S. Pettit; Diane K. Levy
PDF
Urban Institute
NNIP Coordinator
The Potential for Catalyzing Criminal Justice Reform with Data
February 18, 2019
Report - By: Dean Obermark; Kathryn L.S. Pettit
Link

Pages



Related Stories:

Dreaming Up New Ways to Support the Reentry and Housing of People Involved in the Justice System into Their Communities
August 29, 2022

The lack of support from the criminal legal system and the stigma associated with having a criminal record create challenging barriers for people returning from incarceration, particularly when it...

[read more]
Equitable, Not Equal, Distribution of Public Safety Funds in Indianapolis
August 17, 2021

Interested in redressing existing racial, economic, educational, and health inequities, the Indianapolis City-County Council explored how to more effectively allocate funding to reduce violence....

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Residents Inform Priorities of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention
May 11, 2020

Thanks to community-driven research conducted by the Urban Strategies Council (The Council), the new director of the City of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention is planning the department’...

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Understanding Domestic Violence in Marion County
July 23, 2019

8,956 women. 1,840 men. 10,797 total survivors of domestic violence reported in Marion County, Indiana, for 2016. Though these seem like straightforward...

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Analysis of Crime Patterns, and Police Strategy in Response, Helps Convince Vendor to Relocate Business
August 29, 2011

In Fall 2003, a developer working in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood was looking for tenants for a renovated property known as the Old Mill Building. The building has many urban amenities,...

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Local Analysis Demystifies National Crime Data Report
August 29, 2011

In November 2005, for the second consecutive year, Camden, NJ was named the Most Dangerous City in the United States by the Morgan-Quitno Press. These national rankings were based on 2004 Uniform...

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Linking Police Reports to Community Data System Assists Programs to Reduce Crime
August 29, 2011

The Memphis Police Department is working with the Center for Community Criminology and Research (C3R) at the University of Memphis on reducing crime through mapping, statistical analysis, and...

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Reports on Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Changes the Debate
August 29, 2011

In February 2005, the Urban Strategies Council released a report entitled “Homicides in Oakland, 2002-2004,” that presented data from the Oakland Police Department on the common characteristics of...

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