What is community-based public safety?
Community-based public safety (CBPS) is a relationship-based model of violence prevention and intervention in which trusted residents are recruited, trained, and employed as public safety professionals to create safer communities from within.
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CBPS practitioners mediate conflicts before they escalate, intervene with individuals at the highest risk of violence, and help connect people to healthier pathways through assertive outreach, mentoring, case management, victim services, and other supportive interventions. They also provide Safe Passage for students, stabilize families, respond to low-level community safety concerns, and organize neighborhoods around a culture of peace.
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Today, policymakers, public agencies, and philanthropic leaders increasingly recognize the proven impact of community-based public safety in cities such as Los Angeles, Newark, Chicago, Richmond, and many others. As interest in replicating these successes grows nationwide, investment in the field continues to expand.
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Across the United States, over 200 community-based public safety organizations have emerged through grassroots neighborhood leadership. Founded by residents committed to saving young people from violence and incarceration, they employ trusted community members—many with lived experience—whose credibility and relationships make them uniquely effective in reaching those at greatest risk.
