New resource provides a step-by-step guide for implementing the Neighborhood Policing Initiative, based on lessons learned in partnership with local communities and the Chicago Police Department
May 5, 2025 — The Policing Project at NYU School of Law has released the Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative Toolkit, a comprehensive guide to implementing the Neighborhood Policing Initiative (NPI) – a public safety model designed to strengthen community trust and deliver more equitable and effective public safety.
Developed through years of collaboration with local community stakeholders and the Chicago Police Department, the toolkit offers detailed, actionable guidance for agencies nationwide seeking to transform their approach to public safety through neighborhood-based, relationship-driven policing.
The Neighborhood Policing Initiative aims to fundamentally shift the role of police officers from reactive enforcers to proactive partners in addressing community concerns. It consists primarily of these major components: a focus by police on building meaningful relationships with residents in consistently assigned geographic areas, dedicated time for police officers to be “off radio” so they can directly engage with residents on solving neighborhood issues, and providing community members with a meaningful voice in determining how their neighborhoods are policed.
This toolkit provides a framework for building those relationships by aligning personnel, training, communication systems, and community partnerships toward shared goals. Although the toolkit draws lessons from NPI’s implementation in Chicago, its takeaways are broadly applicable to any municipality seeking to implement the NPI model.
Comprehensive Framework for Implementation
The Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative Toolkit walks law enforcement agencies and their community partners through every stage of planning, launching, and maintaining the NPI model. Key elements include:
Restructuring Operations: Guidance on reorganizing police district operations to support neighborhood-based engagement. This includes assigning dedicated District Coordination Officers (DCOs) who are responsible for building long-term relationships in specific geographic areas.
Investing in Community Partnerships: Detailed instructions for identifying, training, and sustaining a network of Community Ambassadors—volunteer residents who work alongside DCOs to identify public safety priorities and co-produce solutions.
Supporting Systems and Infrastructure: Resources to help departments develop the internal systems needed to track engagement, manage calls for service efficiently, and support officers in their community-based roles. This includes the design of custom dispatch protocols, tracking tools, and referral pathways for non-police responses.
Building Capacity and Leadership: Recommendations for training front-line officers, supervisors, and executive leaders to understand and apply the principles of NPI. Emphasis is placed on aligning incentives, evaluation systems, and performance expectations to reinforce the initiative’s core goals.
Lessons from Chicago
Chicago’s implementation of the Neighborhood Policing Initiative, which began with pilot districts in 2019, offers valuable insights into the complexities of institutional change in large, urban police departments. The toolkit distills lessons learned from this experience, offering practical strategies to navigate challenges related to resource constraints, internal resistance, and sustaining momentum over time.
While rooted in the experience of Chicago, however, the toolkit is designed for adaptation by jurisdictions of various sizes and contexts. Agencies interested in adopting NPI can use the toolkit as a starting point to assess readiness, identify community partners, plan for operational and structural changes within the department, and tailor the model to local needs. The document includes planning templates, role descriptions, and sample materials to support jurisdictions at every phase of the process.
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Read the full Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative Toolkit at https://www.policingproject.org/s/Chicago-Neighborhood-Policing-Initative-Toolkit.pdf