Northern Ireland's police transformation may hold lessons for the US

Neighborhoods in Chicago suffer from gang violence and gun-related deaths. A church leader and a physician trained in infectious diseases created Cure Violence, a program that sends teams of local residents to meet with gang leaders as a means of producing positive behavioral change by re-setting social norms. Their approach has reduced violence between 40% and 70%.

Raton, a town once surrounded by eight coal mines, now has a main street of boarded-up buildings. There is reason for optimism as the town diversifies its local economy, betting on "a mix of small manufacturing businesses, health care and specialty services, and hospitality for travelers" to endure the sudden decline in mining revenue. Its calculated revitalization may hold lessons for other towns.

Photos and videos show various actions religious leaders and institutions in Baltimore are taking to help rebuild their community and foster positive interaction in the midst of racial tension, looting, and rioting.

Many minors, especially those who are black or hispanic, are tried and sentenced as adults. A new New Jersey law requires minors to at least begin their sentence in juvenile facilities, but there are still problems.

The increase of violence between the police and Black communities across the country requires a reconstruction of the relationship that addresses empathy, trust, and crime reduction. The Department of Justice has developed test programs in different cities that train police officers in procedural justice. The early results of this program in Stockton, CA show that communities and police have built trust and law legitimacy, while the crime rate has not increased.

The Department of Justice has ordered the Newark Police Department to make reforms to its policing practices, so that public safety will not compromise the human rights. An investigation into the NPD has shown that officers made too many undocumented stops and used unjustified excessive force, resulting in community mistrust. The Newark mayor has begun re-training the police force, reworked standards for punishing police misconduct, advocated body cameras, and civilian oversight of the police department – all of which has started to improve community relations and build trust.

Chicago suffers from violence and tension between police officers and low-income predominantly Black communities. In 2011, the chief of police consulted with a network of university academics and began implementing “procedural justice,” which was an approach that trained police departments to surmount the lack of confidence that residents felt towards officers. The academics and police chief found that by directing social workers to the homes of at-risk community members, and regarding them with respect, there was a reduction in violence—but now the program has stalled.

Little attention is given to black men who are victims of gun violence but survive and need help. An organization in California is mobilizing all gun-violence victims to voice their opinion on criminal justice reform and support for victims.

Lawyers and activists are educating residents in cities across the country on encounters with law enforcement. Know Your Rights training programs have been held by lawyers and community activists in neighborhoods in urban cities nationwide, designed to help residents understand the limits of police authority.

With the police killings of Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, and other black lives across the country, the problem remains how to reform police departments and reduce excessive force on unarmed men and women. Procedural justice is a strategy that centers on legitimizing the law for at-risk communities by building trust, so that the environment of policing changes to one of respect and less crime results. Procedural justice has begun to be implemented across U.S. police departments with some measurable successes, although police accountability remains important and should be an extension of the strategy.