UCLA Luskin’s Two-Year Evaluation of Community-Led Violence Intervention in Newark The Newark Community Street Team’s violence reduction model offers a scalable blueprint for public safety nationwide.
On February 24, 2026, the Community Based Public Safety Collective and the Newark Community Street Team (NCST) hosted a virtual briefing to share findings from a groundbreaking two-year evaluation conducted by UCLA. The findings provide rigorous evidence that community-led violence intervention can significantly reduce violent crime.
Once facing one of the highest homicide rates in the nation, Newark has now achieved a 70-year low in homicides. The evaluation found that NCST’s high-risk interventions are directly associated with reductions in violent crime, particularly in neighborhoods most impacted by violence. Just as importantly, the research highlights how NCST has deepened community trust, strengthened resident engagement, and built durable local capacity for safety and healing.
In 2023, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs received a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation and the Community Based Public Safety Collective to conduct a two-year, mixed-methods evaluation of NCST, a nationally recognized community violence intervention initiative in Newark, New Jersey. Led by Professor Jorja Leap and Professor Emeritus Todd Franke of Social Welfare, the study represents one of the most comprehensive academic assessments to date of a community-led public safety model.
“This project was truly national in scope,” said Leap. “It brought together the Luskin School’s research expertise and resources with the leadership of the Newark Community Street Team and the broader Newark community to demonstrate how community-based public safety can work in practice. It was an extraordinary and deeply meaningful collaboration.”
“What this evaluation sought to demonstrate was the real-time mechanics of the intervention model — when violence increased, the deployment of high-risk interventionists increased accordingly,” said Leap. “There was no delayed response; the reaction was immediate. One of our most important findings was that these efforts contributed to residents feeling safer and reporting a greater sense of well-being.”
The study adds substantial evidence to the national conversation on community violence intervention and offers a practical, scalable framework for cities seeking sustainable, community-rooted public safety strategies.
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