Resident Leaders in Newark and Milwaukee Share Community Safety Best Practices through High-Tech Audiovisual Portals

On June 24, LISC facilitated a virtual meeting between local resident leaders in Milwaukee and Newark to discuss strategies for improving public safety through community engagement. The residents connected through high-tech audiovisual “portals.”

The Portals are repurposed shipping containers equipped with immersive audio and video technology. Full-body screens enable groups to converse in real-time as if they are in the same room. The portals were created by Shared Studios and there are currently 27 of them around the world.

The Portals are repurposed shipping containers equipped with immersive audio and video technology. Full-body screens enable groups to converse in real-time as if they are in the same room. The portals were created by Shared Studios and there are currently 27 of them around the world.

Of the 27 Portals locations worldwide, there are two domestic portals: one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and one in Newark, New Jersey. With local offices in both cities, LISC recognized the Portals as an opportunity to connect residents, law enforcement and other community safety stakeholders. In Newark, residents from the Fairmont and Vailsburg neighborhoods convened in Military Park to connect with the Milwaukee Portal, which brought residents from the Harambee and Amani neighborhoods. LISC already has robust resident-led community safety initiatives in these neighborhoods, and the Portals activity provided a unique opportunity for like-minded community leaders to connect with each other. The virtual meeting also gave the local groups that have taken part in these programs the opportunity to share their past experiences, including successes and achievements, lessons learned, and best practices.

For the first hour of the event, the Newark and Milwaukee groups engaged in separate warm-up sessions outside of their respective portals. Residents used this time to introduce themselves, talk about the safety issues that they feel are most pressing, and also share the things about their neighborhoods that they love.

After the warm up sessions, the groups entered the portals. Through the portal screens, the Milwaukee and Newark residents discussed a variety of topics, including:

• Techniques for successful engagement with local law enforcement
• Strategies for increasing community involvement in resident-led safety initiatives
• Experiences with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and the strengths and limitations of this approach
• Tactics for organizing residents in opposition to a “problem business” (for example, a liquor store or problematic corner store)
• Strategies for organizing residents around problem properties or problem landlords