The Futures Institute

Through our Research & Solutions work, we create resources that can help to inform effective policymaking and advocacy on community safety and youth opportunity. Browse our resource library for policy guides, issue briefs, and other resources.

Resources

Developing an Alternative Metric for Community Safety

Posted Oct. 2023

This memo briefly explains why crime rates are a poor way to evaluate safety, then makes a case for developing a new metric that more holistically and comprehensively assesses how safe a community is—a project that will require not only identifying data sources, but also interrogating conceptually what “safety” should include. The memo closes by sketching a proposed framework that could guide a project of metric development.

Community Safety for All

Posted Oct. 2023

Community safety is about advancing safety goals not by addressing symptoms or intervening far too late, but through evidence-based investments that prevent violence and harm upfront. This framework builds on what these “social determinants of safety” are—and how addressing them can make all of our communities truly safe.

The Social Determinants of Safety

Posted Oct. 2023

Building from insights in health, the “social determinants of safety” (SDOS) are the underlying
social and structural conditions that drive both safety outcomes and contact with the criminal-legal
system. As a framework,  the accompanying approach involves identifying safety needs and
implementing evidence-based solutions that address these underlying issues before violence and
harm occur.

A New Community Safety Blueprint: How the Federal Government Can Address Violence and Harm through a Public Health Approach

Posted Oct. 2023

This brief, “A new community safety blueprint: How the federal government can address violence and harm through a public health approach,” is designed to help federal lawmakers harness key insights into the Social Determinants of Safety, specifically by outlining a multi-disciplinary, evidence-based policy agenda that prioritizes upstream interventions to advance community safety.

Community Safety and the American Rescue Plan: A Guide to Using Fiscal Recovery Grants to Advance Holistic Safety

This guide explains how state and local lawmakers can use the American Rescue Plan Act to fund community safety programs.

Harnessing Infrastructure Grants for Community Safety

This guide explains how state and local lawmakers can use the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to fund community safety projects.

Safety That Works: Evidence-Based Investments for Keeping Youth & Communities Safe

This issue brief presents policy recommendations on how evidence-based investments can best keep youth and communities safe.

Getting Smart on Safety: Evidence on Non-Carceral Investments That Work to Prevent Violence and Harm

Posted Oct. 2023

This brief examines non-carceral solutions for retail theft  while dispelling myths about is and is not happening nationwide.

A Roadmap to Community Safety: A Guide for Local Lawmakers

Posted Oct. 2023

This co-authored guide explains how local lawmakers can begin implementing community safety programs and policies.

A Roadmap to Community Safety: A Guide for State Lawmakers

Posted Oct. 2023

This co-authored guide explains explains how local lawmakers can begin implementing community safety programs and policies.

Community Safety and the American Rescue Plan: A Guide to Using Fiscal Recovery Grants to Advance Holistic Safety

Posted Oct. 2023

This guide explains how state and local lawmakers can use the American Rescue Plan Act to fund community safety programs.