North Jersey's "justice league" ? the mayors of Jersey City, Newark and Paterson, who have teamed up to share cops, intelligence and resources ? met for a public-safety forum today at Rutgers-Newark, where they recommitted to stamping out crime in their three cities.

With the recent unrest in Ferguson, Mo. weighing on everyone's minds ? the police shooting of an unarmed black man in that St. Louis suburb was broached several times ? the three mayors said they are in discussions to buy body cameras for police officers, just as Ferguson's police department has.

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We all know who is committing these murders. I don't think there's any kind of "strategic partnership" that will make one bit of difference.

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Eight murders in the last two months in JC.

these violent felons need to be locked away for GOOD! i spoke to someone yesterday who lived in greenville for a few months and was robbed twice (1x by someone with a knife, another time by someone with a basebal bat).

OK, one killed in Greenville last night, a couple shot in Newark last night, another man shot in Paterson-off to a great start!

Steven Fulop
Mayor, Jersey City

NJ Cities Working Together
08/04/2014 3:59 pm EDT

Crime recognizes few boundaries - urban or suburban. That's why it's so important to have police departments cooperate as regional crime fighters, especially to slow the movement of guns and drugs. But fighting crime is more than just good police work. We also need to remedy some of the problems that cause crime to occur by focusing not only on public safety but job creation, housing security and recreation opportunities as well.

That's why, in New Jersey, the mayors of the state's three largest cities have joined together to launch a three-pronged, united front to help change the cycle of poverty and crime. In Jersey City, Newark and Paterson, we have come together to share services, and at times personnel, in fighting crime, while also seeking to coordinate community outreach efforts. Mayors Ras Baraka, Joey Torres and I believe this can become a model for mayors throughout the United States to follow.

Examples of how our three cities will collaborate on public safety matters include sharing information, tracking criminals who travel from city to city, trading gang intelligence and offering communal police manpower and task forces, as well working together on programs such as Cease Fire and departmental efforts for minority recruiting. At the same time, the cities will jointly agree to issue municipal Requests for Proposals that call for bidders to subscribe to responsible gun sales and use, as Jersey City has already done with positive results. In addition, we are partnering with Rutgers University Police Institute to help guide our efforts.

Still, in focusing on crime we must also get to some of its causes. Our cities will try to deal with persistent issues around poverty like maintaining one's home, finding a good job and having productive things to do with free time.

On foreclosures, we intend to collaborate by mandating banks holding municipal accounts to work with us on solutions for problematic mortgages. We will also enhance recreational opportunities for our youth in building healthy competition and community between the three cities by creating a midnight basketball league and other sports competitions.

Perhaps the most important initiative is to help create better job opportunities. Jersey City's prisoner re-entry program is quickly becoming a national model for how to offer supportive housing, jobs and social services for the re-entry community. We are successfully developing partnerships with both law enforcement and the business community to provide meaningful employment and reduce recidivism and will likely be joined by Newark and Paterson in this effort.

Jersey City's job training program has also been effectively building relationships with the private and nonprofit sector to create a significant job bank and develop apprenticeship and training programs in a variety of fields. We will also bring the force of public sector to bear by providing employment training and job entry programs, using resources from three municipalities, their respective agencies and public and private partnerships to allow for greater opportunity.

Clearly this is just the beginning of a more in-depth conversation about how to enhance and engage our communities, work together, and develop strong partnerships to benefit our residents. No doubt, there is more we can and will do moving forward. Still, as a first step we are moving from hope to action. This is a path other city governments should follow.
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Steven Fulop is Mayor of Jersey City, NJ.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven- ... ng-togethe_b_5648391.html

Newark, Jersey City, Paterson mayors to announce 'strategic partnership' on public safety

By Jeff Goldman | The Star-Ledger
July 28, 2014 at 10:52 AM

JERSEY CITY ? The mayors of the state's three largest cities will hold a press conference this afternoon to announce a "strategic partnership" to address public safety.

Ras Baraka of Newark, Steve Fulop of Jersey City and Joey Torres of Paterson are expected to attend the 1 p.m. event at the Hub Shopping Center on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Jersey City.

The cross-city initiatives will discuss issues at round-table forums and "create solutions to public safety issues," according to a statement issued by the three cities.

Among the subjects that will be discussed at the press conference and the upcoming round tables will be shared services in tracking criminals that may travel from city to city, gang intelligence, police manpower, expansion of employment, prisoner re-entry programs, bank foreclosures and shared practices.

The partnership is being formed in the wake of violent, high-profile killings in northern New Jersey this month.

In Paterson, 12-year-old Genesis Rincon was shot and killed while riding her scooter on a city street. Three men have been charged in connection with her death.

In Jersey City, Melvin Santiago, a 23-year-old police officer responding to a report of an armed robbery, was shot and killed by a man who then killed himself.

Last month, a 17-year-old Newark girl was killed on the 500 block of South 17th Street. Less than two weeks earlier Cheyanne Bond had graduated from Malcolm X. Shabazz High School.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014 ... tegic_partnership_on.html