In cities with high crime rates, like Newark, N.J., figuring out the right balance of police engagement is especially hard.
In 2013, Newark had 40 homicides per 100,000 residents, the third-highest homicide rate in the country.
Last fall, the new mayor, Ras Baraka, announced a plan to tackle the crime and neglect that have plagued the city's worst neighborhoods. He started by focusing on two of the toughest: Clinton Hill and the Lower West Ward. I asked him in January how he'll know the program is working.