The Policing Project at NYU School of Law has published an in-depth report on Denver’s STAR non-police alternative response program and community perceptions of public safety
Media Contact: Joshua Manson, Policing Project at NYU School of Law, joshua.manson@nyu.edu
Denver, CO – The Policing Project at NYU School of Law today released a first-of-its-kind report on community safety and non-police alternative first response in Denver. The report, Transforming Denver’s First Response Model, found that there is broad agreement – among community members, police leaders, and alternative first responders – that “sending police to deal with every social problem simply isn’t working.” The report also found that, among people from communities most affected by policing, there is broad agreement that transforming first response is a high priority issue.
“Today’s report unearths a critical truth about building public safety in Denver, one that holds true for every community across the country – it’s not as simple as just adding more police,” said Barry Friedman, co-founder of the Policing Project at NYU School of Law and the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law. “Any meaningful public safety program must include a diverse set of first responders, more than just police. Changing the status quo requires creativity, constant monitoring, and many adjustments – especially in high-stress environments like 911 call centers. It requires providing training and support to those on the ground. This report makes it clear that while change is essential, it is not easy, and Denver's experience provides an important model to both learn from and build upon. Thanks to the hard work of the Denver community and city leadership, STAR has become a national model for re-thinking first response.”
Since 2020, Denver has gained national recognition for its Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program, a pioneering non-police alternative first response initiative. As part of the STAR program, the City responds to certain incoming calls-for-service – related to mental and behavioral health, substance use, homelessness, and other areas – with a mobile van carrying a clinician and paramedic, instead of with law enforcement.
The program has generated significant enthusiasm from community members and government officials alike. Today’s report provides critical insight into this large-scale change to first response in Denver.
That support across stakeholder communities in Denver for alternative first response, the report found, was largely motivated by four main goals: mitigating legal and physical risks associated with calling the police, reducing the overuse of 911 and police resources to address non-emergencies, improving relationships between first responders and community members, and pairing callers with more appropriate resources to address their needs.
"Our work in Denver makes it clear: successful alternative response models start with well-supported 911 call-takers and dispatchers,” said Jessica Gillooly, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Suffolk University and one of the report’s authors. “By observing how training, protocols, and organizational culture shape these critical decision makers’ call handling processes in real time, we can better understand how to support them in making new response choices when faced with familiar social problems."
“The Denverites we spoke with were primarily long-term residents of neighborhoods with high 911 call rates. They were clear that police should no longer be ‘automatically bundled’ within responses to citizen calls. From their perspective, police officers should play a role in creating safe neighborhoods, but a limited one,” said Tamara Leech, Andrew Carnegie Fellow and co-author of the report.
The report is the first in a series of research projects undertaken by the Policing Project’s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative. Conducted in partnership with researchers from Suffolk University and Montclair State University, it presents findings from intensive conversations with Denver residents and research interviews with municipal stakeholders from multiple agencies about their perceptions, ideas, and attitudes toward the STAR Program and the City’s efforts to transform its first response systems. In addition to community members, the researchers spoke with City officials, police leaders and officers, 911 operators, and non-police alternative first responders.
Understandably, the report found, change has come with challenges, including in adapting to new practices and procedures, shifting deeply rooted mindsets about risk and safety, and operating in a context of limited resources. The researchers also found differing views across stakeholder groups about who should be tasked with maintaining public safety, though there was agreement on definitions of public safety itself and the role 911 should play in public safety response.
The Policing Project’s Reimagining Public Safety initiative supports strong, healthy, and safe communities by working to end overreliance on law enforcement. The Policing Project has been conducting research and engagement about community safety concerns and innovations in Denver, San Francisco, Tucson, and Chicago. The initiative is producing guidance for cities on alternative response and police alternatives that better address the actual reasons community members call 911, and has created a national peer-learning community of practice to support the field of alternative response.
Read today’s report here. For more information on the Reimagining Public Safety initiative, visit SafetyReimagined.org.
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The Policing Project at NYU School of Law promotes public safety through transparency, equity, and democratic engagement. Learn about the Policing Project at www.policingproject.org.