The South Orange Community Care and Justice program asked last month for residents to participate in a survey on law enforcement and neighborhood culture.
The Community Care and Justice survey’s goal is to redefine “traditional models of law enforcement by putting a greater emphasis on wellness and crisis prevention while embedding care and compassion service values into all facets of public safety operation,” Village President Sheena Collum said in an open letter to residents in the Village Green.
The survey has three parts – Community Care and Justice Values Assets and Needs Survey, an optional supplemental survey and a volunteer focus group that participants can opt out of.
Questions include, “what does justice mean to you?” and “if you were having a personal or emotional problem, who would seek help from?”
The survey data is being collected through November 2021.
The CCJ initiative, which was announced in March 2021, is a South Orange Village program made in collaboration with Essex County and Seton Hall University’s department of social work.
It is overseen by Trustee Donna Coallier, chair of the Village's Health and Public Safety Committee and Dr. Juan Rios, Director of Seton Hall University's Master of Social Work program.
Rios could not be immediately reached for comment on the survey.
Amanda DeJesus can be reached at amanda.dejesus@student.shu.edu.
