Ecuador legalized gangs. Murder rates plummeted.

One-third to half of those killed by police are disabled, a recent report says. “Our problem isn’t with police,” one mental health advocate says, but both sides say officers need more training.

Portugal has gone perhaps the farthest in decriminalizing drug use. It hasn't stopped drug usage, but it has reduced deaths, the spread of H.I.V., drug crime, and imprisonment.

Police in California have begun using body cameras to record their daily interactions with the public, decreasing altercations and misconduct by both officers and citizens.

Many young Latina women live their lives in fear of gang violence. The Montgomery County Street Outreach Network rescues girls in danger and offers services to them in order to help them change their chances of success.

There is a misconception that making cities safer for women requires more security cameras. Now, the method of improving public transport systems and lighting up public streets is being implemented and its allowing women to feel safer and enjoy greater mobility.

When Emily Kennedy was a teenager traveling in Eastern Europe she saw street kids she learned were trafficked by the Russian mob and decided to tackle human trafficking in her college work. The company she launched, Marinus Analytics, created a software application that has been used by authorities to rescue hundreds of victims in the U.S. and Canada and is expanding. The data it gathers has also debunked assumptions about how and where trafficking takes place.

Research has shown there are concrete steps journalists can take to thoughtful cover mass shootings in a way that doesn’t spur the motives of potential copycats. These include reducing the amount a shooter is named, running articles without including a picture of the shooter, and avoidance of certain words to describe the event.

A group in Chicago called Good Kids, Mad City is made up of youth who have been affected by gun violence. They offer support and accountability to each other and use the group as a way to cope with the daily violence they face every day. In addition to the therapeutic benefits of the group, the youth have even lobbied and passed legislation that expunges non-violent marijuana offenses as part of the state’s marijuana legalization proposal.

تقدم مجموعات فيسبوك سوريّة مستقلة الدعم القانوني والنفسي لضحايا الابتزاز الجنسي الذي تزايد بسبب الوباء والصراع طويل الأمد. تبلّغ هذه الفرق عن حسابات المبتزّين، كما تتخذ إجراءات قانونية كي يتراجع الجناة، وتقدم الدعم النفسي والمعنوي للنساء اللاتي يخشين ردود فعل الأهل.

It turns out the old adage of knowing your neighbor really can help make your neighborhood safer. A study of more than 250 cities found that a key factor behind a drop in crime in the last 20 years was the mobilizing of citizens by nonprofit organizations like block clubs. In Milwaukee these “urban guardians” have helped bring communities together and foster safer spaces that also address urban blight.