The City Trying ‘Trauma Training’ for Citizens — and Cops
Newark tries to restore trust with a novel program.
Easing the deep and long-held mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color has no easy fix. But in Newark, N.J., police have embarked on an experiment that they hope will calm tensions by immersing both cops and residents in uncomfortable truths about slavery and Jim Crow, coupled with lessons on epigenetics and trauma.
The Newark Police Department has mandated that each of its approximately 1,110 officers participate in three days of training alongside city residents, swapping stories and ideas more commonly heard on a therapist’s couch or college classroom, not
