Domestic Violence Takes Spotlight In Newark Police Reform Effort

                Newark’s historic Police Reform took an unexpected turn two weeks ago with an engaging subject not immediately associated with troubled policing...Domestic Violence.

                Newark Communities for Accountable Policing (NCAP) and the Newark AntiViolence Coalition (NAVC) co-sponsored an engrossing talk at the groundbreaking Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center (The Center) on the subject.

                Problems servicing Domestic Violence came up in a recent oversight report of the Federal Monitor over the Police Reform effort citing inadequate handling of Domestic Violence calls, dismissive behavior of City Police call takers and officers responding to the calls, and of officers themselves not being seriously addressed with their own problems.

                Involved in the panel discussion was Asia Smith, one of the most highly touted experts on the issue in the state on behalf of The Center, Emily Perez, whose program at the Ironbound Community Corporation has serviced at least 150 people since its relatively recent inception, Rev. Jerri Lee Mitchell, the assistant pastor of  United Fellowship Church of New Ark, Captain Brian O’Hara of the Newark Reform Team and Keesha Eure, chair of the NAVC and supervisor of the West Ward Victims Outreach Program, who moderated the panel.

                The Newark Police Department also had on hand leadership from their Sexual Crimes Unit which works directly with the Center.

                Perez pushed the envelope of the conversation immediately when she pointed out the “gaps” between partners.

                “There are many gaps between partners and collaborators.

                “Sometimes we have these discussions, but there is often no follow up on the matters that are raised.

                “These collaborative efforts should be ongoing,” she insisted.

                Rev. Mitchell, who came with an outreach team of survivors pointed out the ongoing challenge of the church community in these efforts.

                Bearing the distinction of being both a clinician and clergy, and serving a congregation that has a considerable LGBTQ membership, Mitchell pointed out the limitations of traditional non-intervention postures of the church and sought to challenge the church community with balanced intervention strategies.

                “We are not our here to change your beliefs.

                “We are here to change your perspective,” she said.

                The Police Department acknowledged key challenges in servicing the issue, including the challenge that the Department faced with the layoff that occurred several years ago and a call center that is simply understaffed for the volume of calls that it faces.

                They acknowledged that of the hundreds of thousands of calls taken on an annual basis at least 17,000 wind up bouncing back to other Police Departments.

                “We are not where they are on ‘911’,” said Zayid Muhammad, the principal organizer of the event, referring to the hit television series starring Angela Bassett that spotlights emergency responders and a first rate call center.

                So what do we have to do get there,” he asked bringing the discussion back to those items outlined in the Federal Monitor’s Report.

                Police leadership agreed that the need for trauma informed retraining of staff is as key as is additional staffing and oversight.

                One of the areas that the Reform effort has helped on the issue is with the implementation of Body Cameras for all officers. Now, a given response to a Domestic Violence call, or any call, can be fully evaluated by their Body Camera footage.

                After a full participatory discussion, including an audience of survivors and additional service providers, Eure closed out the forum with the visionary sentiment of the participants and the survivors on hand.

                “I want to see us move from being a Trauma informed city to becoming a Trauma empowered city,” she stressed.

                The Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center is an institution developed to address Domestic Violence holistically, named after Mayor Baraka’s late sister who was senselessly slain in a Domestic Violence incident in 2003. It is located at 300 Clinton Avenue in Newark’s South Ward. For more information, please call 973 757 7377.

                For information on the engagement efforts of NCAP, please call 973 202 0745.

                For more information on the NAVC, approaching its tenth anniversary, please call 908 605 NAVC...