Photo: Hiram Alejandro Durán | THE CITY
Letting neighbors, not police, respond to low level street crime -- is at the heart of a bold ‘community responder’ experiment that could redefine law enforcement in New York. Several times a year, workers from Brownsville In Violence Out stand sentry on two blocks for five days, and police channel all 911 calls from that area to them. They are part of the Brownsville Safety Alliance, a group of neighborhood and city groups, police officers and members of the Kings County District Attorney’s office that is trying to ensure that fewer people are entangled in the criminal justice system. In the first half of 2023, homicides fell 50%, shootings fell 25% and the rate of grand larcenies of automobiles also fell even as it rose in other neighborhoods. Over the next three years, the city will provide $2.1 million to help link the local organizations that participate most frequently in the Safety Alliance so they can work cohesively throughout the year.
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