Faculty help develop safety initiatives

Two faculty members from the School of Criminal Justice were part of SAFE Alliance, a community group that developed neighborhood violence reduction initiatives within the city of Grand Rapids. The group, led by Grand Rapids City Commissioner Senita Lenear, met for nine months and on March 24 presented recommendations to city leaders.

John Walsh, assistant professor of criminal justice, and Patrick Gerkin, associate professor of criminal justice, served as authors on the report; Walsh also served as a SAFE Alliance member.

The report includes 50 recommendations and introduces new community crime prevention initiatives and identifies several crime prevention strategies that serve as “best practice models” across the country. The report also suggests ways the city and police departments can improve collaborative efforts with neighborhood associations, churches, schools and other organizations.