Public Safety
Everyone deserves to feel and be safe. Across the country, localities can build real safety by investing in communities and addressing the root causes of instability

Our Work and Vision

Real safety is when people have everything they need to thrive — a place to live, a dignified job that provides economic security and access to opportunities, and the resources to care for themselves and their loved ones. For too long, we’ve relied solely on policing and punishment while at the same time underinvesting in public housing, infrastructure, schools, and healthcare – which has caused decades of harm in Black and Brown communities. It doesn’t have to be this way. 

For decades, communities have been modeling and investing in ways that address root causes of harm and violence without criminalization and incarceration. Now, local governments across the country are pushing for and investing in these community-led strategies so their impacts can be widely felt.

Public Safety Steering Committee

As a membership organization, we believe our work is most impactful when it is informed and guided by members. Bringing a diverse range of expertise and local experience, our Public Safety Steering Committee advises and shapes our work in this area:

NICK DEMSKE

Former Racine County Supervisor, WI

EUNISSES HERNANDEZ

Los Angeles City Councilmember, CA

WILL JAWANDO

Montgomery County Councilmember, MD

MARY LUPIEN

Rochester City Council Vice President, NY

Sarah Moore

SARAH MOORE

Fayetteville City Councilperson, AR

JALEN MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ

San Antonio Councilmember, TX

SARAH PARADY

Denver City Councilmember At-Large, CO

JEFF PREPTIT

JEFF PREPTIT

Nashville Councilmember, TN

MILLICENT ROGERS

Durham Public Schools Board Member, NC

ROSSANA RODRIGUEZ-SANCHEZ

Chicago Alderperson, IL

ARTI WALKER-PEDDAKOTLA

Former Oak Park Village Trustee, IL

MONICA WILSON

Antioch Councilmember, CA

Featured Resources

CREATING TRAFFIC SAFETY

This policy memo supports local elected officials to pursue policies to create traffic safety that prioritizes public health and racial equity.

CREATING A COMMUNITY RESPONDER PROGRAM

This tool will help local elected officials create and scale community responder programs that help build real safety. It provides concrete steps, strategic considerations, and recommendations from experts in the field. It supports local leaders to utilize their strategic position as power brokers within government and organizers within their communities.

REFORM / TRANSFORM

Reform/Transform: A Policing Policy Toolkit is a framework and policy roadmap supporting local elected officials in making exactly these types of changes. The toolkit provides a simple, user-friendly framework for cities to evaluate policies across a dozen metrics ranging from oversight and change to department policies to limiting ICE collaboration.

INVESTING IN REAL SAFETY

Investing in Real Safety is a how-to guide for policymakers is a new budget analysis microsite meant to supplement Reform/Transform‘s comparative budgeting tool with in-depth guidance on how to examine how police budgets are structured and how to make investments in the resources that truly create safety.

LET'S TALK REAL SAFETY

We succeed when we collectively and consistently drive a shared vision of community safety. Let's Talk Real Safety is a messaging guide that provides local elected officials and their staff with shared language around community safety. It is grounded in the latest research, polling, and nationally-tested messaging.

More Resources

Blogs And Featured News

New Resource Helps Local Electeds Create Real Traffic Safety

To support local elected officials in taking action to create real traffic safety the Local Progress Impact Lab created a new resource: Creating Traffic Safety: A Policy Memo for Local Elected Leaders.
An image of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka

Statement: National Network of Local Officials Denounce Unjustified Arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka

In response to the reported arrest and subsequent release of Newark Mayor and Local Progress member Ras Baraka, Essex County Commissioner and Local Progress Board Member A’Dorian Murray-Thomas released the following statement. 
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty who was sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023 speaking at the All Square restaurant in Minneapolis on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 where supporters gathered to celebrate her election. Mshale Staff Photo by Panashe Matemba-Mutasa

Statement: Amid Federal Threats, Local Leaders Stand Strong for True Civil Rights

In response to the Trump Administration’s so-called “civil rights” investigation into Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s Office, Local Progress released this statement.
Photograph of Kristerfer Burnett speaking a podium.

Opinion: The Right to Privacy: A Call for Accountability in Baltimore’s Surveillance Practices

Baltimore must act now to create a system that prioritizes equity and transparency over control, writes LP Board Member and Baltimore City Councilmember Kristerfer Burnett.