Step-by-Step Guide to Drafting Your Own Community Safety Policy at the State Level

A Community Safety Policy is a policy agenda that shifts the concept of “safety” from a primarily criminal-legal model to a new framework that roots safety in public health and makes investments in non-carceral solutions. This guide outlines four steps states can take to create their own Community Safety Policy. These steps involve creating grant programs to fund non-carceral safety, establishing a division of community safety to oversee non-carceral safety investments, establishing a community advisory board with statutory power, and establishing targeted offices to support specific populations.