In India, peace building goes ultimate

The Police Athletic League connects local police officers with youth to fill some of their free time playing sports. The program uses mentorship and lessons learned from athletics to prevent juvenile crime and violence.

The "music + football = peace" initiative is an annual football tournament where Muslim and Christian youths between the ages of 18 and 25 play matches together to promote a culture of peace and religious tolerance. Since launching in 2020, the initiative has six teams of 16 people, with plans to expand and reach more areas.

RVA League For Safer Streets uses a basketball league as "bait" to change young men's lives by teaching critical thinking and better ways to resolve conflicts. The Richmond, Virginia, program was co-founded in prison by a former drug dealer convicted of murder who learned the methods of cognitive behavioral therapy behind bars. Paroled after 23 years, he began counseling youth with an approach that police say contributed to a significant drop in Richmond's gang violence and other crime.

The law often traps offenders in a cycle of lawbreaking. LEAD allows for drug users to become committed to a program that helps them through the quitting process instead of throwing them into prison and isolating them from the help they need.

Baltimore has dramatically reduced homicides through a multi-pronged approach involving a data-driven Group Violence Reduction Strategy, credible-messenger intervention programs, and aggressive prosecution of illegal gun possession. This has resulted in a record-low murder rate in 2026, with 60 killings recorded through August compared to roughly 220 at the same point four years prior.

The Prince George's County Police Athletic League uses free, officer-led sports programs like Connect Boxing to build trust between youth and law enforcement while reducing juvenile delinquency. Participants reported improved grades, stronger discipline, and healthier decision-making skills.

A partnership between the Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation and Nigeria's National Park Service introduced a community-led conservation model at Okomu National Park that transformed former illegal loggers and poachers into paid rangers and entrepreneurs. This reduced chainsaw incidents, expanded patrol coverage, recorded a stable elephant population, and provided over 120 residents with access to savings and loans that reduced their economic dependence on the forest.

RESTORE is a juvenile re-entry program offering supportive programming and guidance to intervene in cycles of crime and help more youth avoid the juvenile system and learn to make more positive choices. Already this year, RESTORE has served 344 young people through their workshops. Since launching in 2023, the program has helped 19 people graduate with their high school diploma, GED or a certification.

Durham’s alternative crisis response team of social workers, HEART, responds to 911 calls to mitigate conflict on their own or with the police. The program is designed to keep everyone involved safe while preventing a situation from escalating to violence.

Durham, North Carolina, instated an alternative crisis response program that dispatches social workers to respond to 911 calls about people in mental health crises. The team’s successes earned the support of an initially skeptical police department.