Professor Rod Brunson and first year doctoral student Diomand Henry recently published an article in the inaugural issue of Vital City, a journal housed in the Columbia Law School intended to provide articles, reports and analyses surrounding civic life and public safety.
Dr. Brunson and Diomand’s Vital City article lays the contextual foundation of widespread legal cynicism and distrust of the police based on Brunson’s study on New York City residents. Then, Dr. Brunson and Diomand promote community engagement with multiple city offices, beyond law enforcement, as a promising strategy to “improve government accountability” and “bolster public confidence.”
“At first we talk about policing and how communities feel about policing,” Diomand said. “Then I did a little bit of research…something that I found really compelling, based on [my prior work with non-profits] is the work of community organizations and the work of communities in helping to create public safety.”
In the article, Diomand and Dr. Brunson reference existing community initiatives, such as NeighborhoodStat in New York and Transforming Safety in Colorado. Both initiatives, Diomand and Dr. Brunson write, are examples of the promise in these types of community investments to improve public safety.
“A safe community is one that takes care of health, takes care of youth, takes care of education,” Diomand said.
Diomand said the process of writing and publishing the article was a collaboration in which she received considerable encouragement from Dr. Brunson. After Dr. Brunson was asked to contribute to Vital City, he reached out to Diomand since he knew she had relevant interests and previously worked with criminal justice nonprofits.
“We have [regular] meetings, like an update where I say, ‘This is what I want to do, this is what I’m interested in,’” Diomand said. “That’s how this came about.”
As Diomand’s faculty supervisor and mentor, Dr. Brunson has provided Diomand with opportunities tailored to her interests and goals going forward.
“I have witnessed Diomand’s development from a first-semester graduate student,” Dr. Brunson said. “She is intellectually curious, highly motivated, and has the potential to be an exceptionally skilled researcher.”
In the coming years, Diomand stated she’s most interested in researching re-entry, both within the United States and in a transnational context, as well as issues related to immigration and crime. She hopes to not only reach other academics with her work, but to also disseminate what she learns to a broader audience.
“I want to use oral histories and storytelling,” she said. “My goal is to reach the community.”
