In 2016, the city of Newark entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice to overhaul its policing efforts after years of police misconduct allegations.

The consent decree was supposed to last five years, but has continued under the oversight of Federal Monitor Peter Harvey for an extra two years.

Last night, Harvey sat down with Newark residents and members of the faith community, together with leadership from the police department, for an open conversation about the progress that's been made over the last seven years and where Newark police still need to improve.

While some say the consent decree has gone on too long, Melissa Rose Cooper reports that others insist the police still need oversight.

I'm happy to report that Newark police is not the same agency I joined in 1998.

Acting Newark public safety director Sharonda Morris applauding improvements to the Newark Police Department over the last several years as a result of a 2016 consent decree.

The court order established a number of reforms under guidance of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Because of the scent decree.

Every officer participates in mandatory 40 hours of training each year while community policing.

Implicit bias and stop search and arrest practices.

Because of this percent decrease, every officer is wearing a body worn camera to record interactions.

The decree was put into effect after years of complaints of police misconduct.

The Department of Justice conducted its own investigation, concluding in 2014, finding that 75% of pedestrian stops had no legal basis.

20% of the NYPD's recorded use of force was unreasonable.

And Newark's black residents were disproportionately subject to unconstitutional stops and arrests.

Now, seven years later, former state Attorney General Peter Harvey, who also serves as the Independent Federal Monitor, telling members of the community last night that data from recent audits show Newark's police department has made substantial progress.

In 2019, we found that 67.9% of the use of force incidents were compliant.

That means that a significant number were not.

If you look to 2021 and you compare the two.

Newark substantially improved.

It went from 67.9% to 86.5%.

It means that the policies and the training are being implemented on the streets.

It means that commanders and supervisors are paying attention to this.

It means that officers are being reminded of what their obligations are.

But despite noted improvements in police misconduct, many residents still share safety concerns in their communities, according to a fairly Dickinson University poll from July.

While 68% of people say they feel very or somewhat safe walking in their neighborhoods during the day, only 42% feel that way at night.

34% of residents also agree Newark has become a better place, compared to 26% who say it has gotten worse.

That's actually down from how people felt five years ago, where 43% said things were better and 19% felt things had worsened.

Zahid Mohammed says the community is more safe when police respond appropriately.

It looks like Elijah Garcia, a kid who gets killed in a sports activity because neither Essex County or Newark knew how to respond to that 911 call.

And we have been screaming about that in this town for decades.

For decades.

Overall, is the police division getting better?

Yes, substantially better.

Is it a hit in some areas as distinguished from other areas?

Of course.

You always have progress, greater progress in some areas than in other areas.

But on the whole, this is a very different police organization than it was in 2016.

An end date for the consent decree was expected this year, but has not yet been confirmed.

But members of the Newark Police Department say the work is not over and they are committed to doing what's necessary to make residents feel safe.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Cooper.