Reimagining Public Safety: policing and community control in a Boston public housing development

A full report Public Safety Reimagined: The Rise and Fall of the Bromley-Heath Patrol can be found here.

This study is one of the first sociological accounts of transformations in policing and community-control in a formerly tenant-owned public housing development. Using crime data, archival data, semi-structured interviews, and an original survey as research methods, this study seeks to examine the following research question: how do institutional (police, housing management, social service providers) and community actors (tenant leaders and residents) work to address safety and quality-of-life issues at Mildred C. Hailey apartments, and how have these approaches have changed over time (late 1960s to present)? Ultimately, this study aims to contribute to policy initiatives centered on developing innovative, community-centered approaches to safety within low-income racial minority communities, especially within U.S. public housing developments.

Researcher: Jasmine Olivier