Building Trust Cuts Violence. Cash Also Helps.

After going to prison themselves, John Knight of Jackson and Shanduke McPhatter of Brooklyn are living straight and determined to make changes. They work as "violence interrupters" in their neighborhoods, using an approach called "Cure Violence," developed by Dr. Gary Slutkin. They mentor other young, at-risk men and encourage them towards graduating high school, community service, staying away from drugs, and pursuing honest work.

In 2019, a South Sudan chief organized and empowered local “vigilante groups” (networks of households tasked with supporting each other), and since then, the community has transformed from a sparsely populated and violent neighborhood into a crowded but safe place where markets can stay open later at night. This community policing tactic has since spread to other South Sudanese areas and relies on collaboration between various authorities and ethnic groups to succeed.

Philadelphia’s city-funded Group Violence Intervention program identifies people who commit crimes together and offers them help to get a job, GED, or whatever assistance they need. The program brings together a variety of community members to conduct outreach, offer social services, and warn them of the consequences of continuing to participate in crimes.

The "striking resemblance" between the gun violence problems of Oakland in 2012 and Dallas in 2020 argue in favor of Dallas' adoption of Oakland's Operation Ceasefire approach to violence reduction. By using a "focused deterrence" strategy of targeting people most at risk of committing or suffering violence, and offering services to change their lives' trajectory, Oakland saw six consecutive years of violence reductions, cutting gun violence rates in half. The program was disrupted by the pandemic, but its reliance on community resources and not just law enforcement is seen as a lasting effect.

California’s Bay Area has seen a 30% decrease in gun homicides, despite increasing economic inequality. The region has had many interventions to reach this decline, but the key to all of them is their community-driven nature. From collaborations between law enforcement and social services, to community mentorship programs, to investing in gun violence as a public health issue, each initiative is founded on neighborhood and individual empowerment instead of policing and incarceration.

Certain cities in the United States are facing startlingly high rates of homicide and violence that haven't been seen since the height of gang activity in the 1990s. But certain cities, including Los Angeles, have continued to see declines in or stable crime rates, thanks to a community-based policing approach that uses tactics such as working with former drug dealers, hosting neighborhood events, cleaning litter from the streets, and mediating sit-downs between formal gang rivals.

Cure Violence is a the national non-profit organization that for 16 years has helped multiple cities adopt strategies for violence prevention that mirror those used in disease control. Programs employ trained “violence interrupters” and outreach workers to identify and mediate potentially deadly conflicts, maintaining relationships with those involved to ensure the conflict does not reignite. Cleveland hopes that replicating the model will help reduce local violence and crime.

Advance Peace Fresno tries to turn youth away from violence through mentoring, job training, and by paying them a monthly stipend of up to $1,000 if they hit certain benchmarks in their rehabilitation. The program has recruited 19 young people for its fellowships, following a model that is associated with violence declines in Richmond and Sacramento, and is spreading to multiple other cities. Opponents of the stipends say the agency should not pay people to obey the law. But Advance Peace's strategy is based on using the promise of legitimate income to keep people engaged.

Advance Peace mentors young people at risk of committing or suffering gun violence, guiding them through a "life map" process to exit street life and set goals for a safer, healthier future. The program, which started in Richmond and has expanded to other cities in California and beyond, contributed to a 22% decrease in gun homicides and assaults in an 18-month period. The decrease was 39% in the first targeted neighborhood. Mentoring includes linking youth to cognitive behavioral therapy, jobs, and field trips to expand their experiences. When they meet certain goals, they get paid a "life map allowance."

Within a year of founding its Office of Neighborhood Safety to prevent gun violence, Richmond saw its most violent neighborhood drop from 27 murders to three. The program pairs former gang members and formerly incarcerated men with people deemed at risk of shooting others or getting shot. The mentors are paid a salary by the city, and the program "fellows" get paid a stipend if they stay out of trouble and respond well to the program's life-skills counseling. The program expanded citywide and to other cities, based on its record of keeping fellows alive and shootings in decline.