The National Network for Safe Communities held its national conference at John Jay College of Criminal Justice on June 22 and 23, 2015, in New York City. The landmark conference brought together almost 300 of the National Network’s core partners from around the country to discuss the innovations that are making communities safer by preventing violence and incarceration among the people most likely to be touched by both; helping police do their jobs in a way that does not harm, and in fact strengthens, the communities they serve; and supporting communities to reclaim their voice about the way they want to live.

The National Network, a project of John Jay College, was launched in 2009 under the direction of Professor David Kennedy and John Jay College President Jeremy Travis.

 “Six years ago this month we launched the National Network in the belief that the work it represents had something important to offer the country, that we’d learned something about how to do better, and with the aspiration to form a network—a community of commitment and practice that could fundamentally move how the county was working,” said Professor Kennedy, the National Network’s director. “Well, that world has changed and what was important then to a relative few has recently and suddenly become important to a great many nationally. You are changing the way people think about communities, about crime, about the awful mistakes the country has made, and about how we can do better… The National Network’s niche is, What do we do now? And we are together and systematically answering that question.”

The conference included a keynote address by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason of the Office of Justice Programs, remarks by Commissioner William Bratton of the New York City Police Department, and many special panels of practitioners deeply experienced in collaborative work between communities and law enforcement. The event offered a unique forum to connect the people doing and thinking about this work; create opportunities for peer learning and exchange of information; and advance the groundbreaking practices cities are driving in areas such as domestic violence, prison violence, strategic prosecution, and support and outreach.

“I am pleased to be here at John Jay College, one of the premier institutions for generating criminal justice knowledge,” said Assistant Attorney General Mason, “but I am really particularly happy to be here with people who are committed to this work…to improve relationships between communities and the criminal justice system. I’m counting on you all to deliver and I know you will.”

For a full agenda of National Conference speakers and panels, link to the NNSC website.

A new video premiered at the National Conference that tells the story of the NNSC.

Videos of all sessions are available at the NNSC YouTube channel.