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
Fayetteville City Councilperson, AR
JALEN MCKEE-RODRIGUEZ
San Antonio Councilmember, TX
SARAH PARADY
Denver City Councilmember At-Large, CO
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
