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Community violence intervention

Overview

Community violence intervention (CVI) reduces firearm-related harms by addressing the underlying reasons for violence and working with individuals and communities at increased risk of becoming victims or carrying out acts of violence. CVI programs use trusted and credible messengers—individuals with shared identity, community, or personal experiences with community violence—to reach out to individuals at increased risk for violence or victimization and provide them with supportive services. These credible messengers build relationships with individuals and their families and help them access community resources that support their needs related to life circumstances, living situations, negative behaviors, and/or hopelessness.

The goal of CVI is to address the factors in communities, neighborhoods, and individuals that lead to violence. CVI also aims to break the cycle of violence in racially and ethnically diverse communities with lower incomes that have historically not received enough resources or support. CVI efforts often focus on Black and Latino men aged 10–24, who are at the highest risk of being injured or killed by firearm violence. CVI works best when state and city agencies collaborate with community organizations to create and carry out a plan to reduce violence. This is known as a “CVI ecosystem.”

How to implement community violence intervention activities

  • Identify the organizations and individuals in your community that already are or could be involved in providing CVI services to individuals at increased risk for violence or victimization. These individuals (or organizations that employ these individuals) should be credible messengers.
  • If you are part of a community in which CVI services do not seem to exist, work with community organizations who have pre-existing relationships with individuals at increased risk of violence or victimization to understand who might serve as credible messengers. Do not begin this work without identifying and supporting these credible messengers.
  • Raise awareness among relevant partners about the importance of a CVI ecosystem. Organizations working toward violence prevention, such as community-based organizations, local public health departments, and neighborhood safety groups, should create and implement strategies that address the unique dynamics contributing to violence in their community.

  • Create homicide review commissions that include law enforcement, community members, criminal justice partners, and service providers to discuss homicides and nonfatal shootings. The goal is to identify patterns and potential missed opportunities for intervention to then inform recommendations for addressing the underlying community conditions that increase the risk of individuals experiencing firearm-related violence.
  • Create protective environments and enhance the built environment (such as homes, buildings, streets, transportation, parks, and open spaces) to improve the community conditions where individuals at increased risk of violence or victimization live.
     

Evidence supporting community violence interventions

Evaluations of CVIs are limited, and research is ongoing. However, findings from available studies are promising, showing that CVI initiatives can reduce homicides and nonfatal shootings, reduce violent crime, and reduce arrests for violent offenses in communities disproportionately affected by firearm-related harms. Additional research is underway to understand the core components of successful CVI programs and ecosystems and their impact on firearm-related harms.

  1. Braga, A. A., Weisburd, D., & Turchan, B. (2018). Focused deterrence strategies and crime control: An updated systematic review and meta‐analysis of the empirical evidence. Criminology & Public Policy, 17(1), 205–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12353 
  2. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) WISQARS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://wisqars.cdc.gov/
  3. Corburn, J., Nidam, Y., & Fukutome-Lopez, A. (2022). The art and science of urban gun violence reduction: Evidence from the advance peace program in Sacramento, California. Urban Science, 6(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci6010006
  4. Ross, M. C., Ochoa, E. M., & Papachristos, A. V. (2023). Evaluating the impact of a street outreach intervention on participant involvement in gun violence. PNAS, 120(46), e2300327120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2300327120
  5. Webster, D. W., Tilchin, C. G., & Doucette, M. L. (2023, March). Estimating the effects of Safe Streets Baltimore on gun violence: 2007–2022. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/files/2023-10/estimating-the-effects-of-safe-streets-baltimore-on-gun-violence-july-2023.pdf