Facts, Not Fiction.

2025 is on track to be the safest year in recorded American history. It marked the largest single-year drop in homicide rates ever recorded, and the 4th year in a row that gun deaths declined.

Our interactive map shows 16 cities across the countries that demonstrate this decline. Click the pinpoints to learn which CVI programs are directly contributing to the work.

Don't see your city? Read the 2024 Violence Prevention Index report to view your locality's data.

More Information on Highlighted Cities.

Each city’s highlight contains a more in-depth overview on work that has led to monumental declines in violence in each locality — as a result of the tireless efforts of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs across the country.

  • Back in 2020, the city saw the highest number of murders, 60, since it began formally counting crime statistics in the 1960s. In 2021, that number soared to nearly 90. But since then the number of homicides has trended downward. APD Assistant Chief Angie Jones says last year, the number of homicides dropped to 55 — down from 66 in 2024.

    Cities United helps bolster local efforts aimed at reducing gun violence in high-risk communities and works directly with Austin advocates fronting those initiatives. Smith sees a direct correlation between lower homicide rates and investment in community violence interventions.

    In Travis County, the tour built upon existing momentum and deep-rooted partnerships with trusted community organizations such as ATX Peace, Jail to Jobs, Life Anew Restorative Justice, and the African American Youth Heritage Foundation. These groups have long been embedded in the work and bring experience, credibility, and community trust to the table. Their engagement highlights the importance of leveraging local expertise and reinforcing the networks that can sustain long-term change.

  • Safe Streets Baltimore recently achieved over 365 days without homicides between 2023 and 2024 in six covered areas with historically high levels of gun violence.

    Community-based programs like Safe Streets mediates over a thousand conflicts each year to sucessfully help reduce violence. (Safe Streets 2023 and 2024 reports)

  • Chicago CRED is working to achieve a transformational reduction in gun violence in Chicago, by providing direct services to those at the highest risk of gun violence, and by supporting the building and scaling of the Community Violence Intervention (CVI) ecosystem. Chicago CRED is among some two dozen CVI organizations serving nearly half of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, reaching thousands of individuals at extreme risk of shooting or being shot and intervening in thousands of disputes, any one of which can lead to gun violence.

    The Chicago Police Department reported a reduction in violence in 2025, “ending the year with 416 homicides, the lowest since 1965. There were 171 fewer homicides compared to the 587 homicides last year, a 29% decline year to date. There were also record-low and double-digit reductions in shooting incidents and shooting victims, with a 35% drop in shooting incidents and a 34% decline in shooting victims compared to 2024."

  • Since 2023, when the Columbus Office of Violence Prevention was established, Center for American Progress (CAP) analysis of GVA data finds that the annual gun victimization rate has gone down by 56.5 percent.

    “What that report says is that Columbus is a city to be emulated when other cities are looking at what to do in order to reduce violence in a sustained way. It focuses on making sure that there’s an OVP present or some type of an office like ours that coordinates all of the violence prevention and intervention activities for the city. It talks about the importance in having that gun violence reduction strategy,” said Rena Shak, the Executive Director of the Office of Violence Prevention.

  • The Denver Police Department announced that Denver had 48% fewer homicides in 2025 than in 2024, and a 54% reduction compared to the prior three-year average. With 37 homicides in Denver in 2025, compared to 70 in 2024, Denver Police attribute this significant decrease, in part, to several efforts made by the department and partners. These efforts include focused, holistic efforts in identified high crime areas, removing firearms from the streets, the utilization of technology, focused policing, and top-notch investigations.

    Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas emphasized the importance of Denver’s partnerships with community groups like Struggle of Love that have helped with “violence interruption and mitigation” and pushed people who might likely offend — say, a person who lost a loved one to gun violence — from committing homicide.

    "At the Struggle of Love Foundation, we take a unique approach to gun violence prevention. Instead of focusing on enforcing or banning gun laws, we focus on your safety. Our goal is to educate, equip, and provide resources so that no more lives in our community are lost to gun violence."

  • Homicides in Detroit continue to decline, with 2025 marking what officials have described as yet another historic drop: the fewest murders since 1964, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison announced on Wednesday, Jan. 7, surrounded by federal, state and local law enforcement partners, city officials and community members. There were 165 criminal homicides in 2025 — a 19% reduction from the previous year, marking the third straight year homicides fell and the fewest in Detroit since 1964, when there were 125 homicides.

    The City’s Community Violence Intervention groups have produced incredible results in achieving reductions in homicides and nonfatal shootings beyond the reductions being experienced in non CVI areas. In June, the city added two new CVI groups – Live In Peace and Team Pursuit – on the northeast side, bringing the total number of CVI zones to seven.

    City Council President Sheffield said the city is seeing a 30%-50% reduction in crime in CVI zones.

  • The City of Fresno saw 22 homicides in 2025. Chief Mindy Casto says the city has not seen a drop to that level in 51 years. It's a 70% decrease from 2020 and a 27% reduction from 2024.

    Notably, criminal violence intervention programs have been shown to be an effective tool to decrease crime. The City of Fresno’s homicide count saw a 50-year low last year. That decline can be, at least partially, attributed to the work of Advance Peace, researchers have said. A study conducted by UC Berkeley and UC Merced released last year found that Advance Peace’s work helped reduce gun violence by as much as 46%.

  • By the numbers: Houston saw a 5% dip in homicides in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024, according to stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). Robberies decreased nearly 19%, aggravated assaults fell by over 16% and rapes by about 18%.

    HPD attributes the decline in violent incidents to several key strategies: 1) Gun-violence suppression units focused on repeat offenders and illegal-firearm trafficking. 2) Community-based policing in high-incident neighborhoods, emphasizing relationship-building and trust.

    Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez praised violence interruption programs like RISE, calling them “visionary” and noting that they meet people where they are. “Law enforcement can’t do it alone,” Gonzalez said. “Law enforcement for too long has been on the front lines of three important issues: mental illness, addiction, and poverty. We need supporters and everyone at the table.” He added: “We can’t incarcerate our way out of every issue in society. We need outreach, mental health care, trauma counseling, and job readiness programs—exactly what the RISE Center is offering right here in the community.”

    “The RISE center is more than just a building; it’s a hub of opportunity—a place where young people and adults affected by violence, whether as victims or at risk of becoming offenders, can find resources and real second, fourth, and fifth chances.”

  • NYC recorded 688 shooting incidents in 2025, notably lower than the previous record low of 754 in 2018. Shooting incidents declined 24 percent from 2024 (688 incidents vs. 904). In December 2025, there were only 35 shootings recorded citywide—the fewest ever recorded in a single month in the city’s history.

    Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch attributed the decline to a strategy that deployed large numbers of police officers to patrol high-crime areas at night, including in public housing complexes and the subway system. Both areas saw a 4 percent decrease in major crimes last year.

    "Tackling gun violence requires a comprehensive approach from prosecutions to meaningful community investments. For the fourth consecutive year, the Manhattan D.A.’s Office has awarded significant funding to community-based organizations to compensate young New Yorkers by engaging them in meaningful programming aimed at addressing root causes of youth gun violence. This year’s funding of $295,000 – up from previous years – specifically invests into 11 organizations, several in which are in communities most impacted by gun violence, such as Harlem."

  • "Here in Oakland, we echo the national trend, seeing significant reductions in reported crimes across every major crime category. From January 1 through June 30, the City experienced a significant decrease in crime compared to the same period in 2024. Violent Crimes (Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Rape, Robbery): Down 29%; Homicides: Down 21%; Aggravated Assaults: Down 18%; Rape: Down 24%; Robbery: Down 41%"

    Oakland's Ceasefire program: The mayor said the decrease in crime was not by accident, but reflects a wider approach with Oakland's violence and ceasefire prevention, the state and community leaders. The Ceasefire program returned to Oakland in 2024, helping to prevent people from turning to crime.

    The California city has driven homicides to historic lows, and experts say part of the credit goes to a program that identifies people who are most likely to get pulled into gang violence and pairs them with life coaches to help turn their lives around. City officials meet weekly to review recent shootings and identify the participants. The city’s Department of Violence Prevention finds and talks to those people, one-on-one or in a group session at the church, and offers a host of services, including a life coach.

  • Data shows that 30 counties saw reductions in homicides in 2024, including Philadelphia, which recorded a 36 percent drop last year and a 22 percent decline in 2025.

    The Gun Violence Intervention Coordination Center supports core gun violence intervention programs such as Group Violence Intervention (GVI), Community Crisis Intervention Program (CCIP), and Pushing Progress Philly (P3), and helps strengthen the citywide ecosystem around housing, workforce development, and case coordination.

    Pushing Progress Philly (P3) is a unique response to the gun violence epidemic in Philadelphia. Their team works to reduce the incidents of violence, create effective pathways for better life outcomes, and promote safety and opportunity in Philadelphia’s most impacted communities.

  • Notably, homicides fell from 35 incidents to 17 incidents – a reduction of 51 percent – representing the largest homicide decrease of any major city in the report. “I’m proud that Portland is making real progress. Homicides are down 51 percent year-to-date, and we’ve even seen months with zero homicides,” said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. Increased collaboration across public safety programs, uniting the Portland Police Bureau, Portland Ceasefire, the Office of Violence Prevention, and community partners to deliver coordinated violence prevention and intervention services.

    Portland Ceasefire is a focused deterrence strategy aimed at addressing the most high-risk individuals in our community. It operates proactively and holistically, employing a harm reduction approach rooted in data-driven strategies and best practices.

  • Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins has said crimes against persons fall by 12.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to the same time period in 2024. Likewise, crimes against property fell by 20.3%. In total, all crime fell by 17.4% in that time period. Homicides went down by 25%, and assaults were also down.

    City officials heard a police briefing that cited recent declines in several categories of reported crime and a detailed update from Portsmouth United, the city 'linked community violence-intervention (CVI) program that funds local partners and a violence-interruption team. Portsmouth United, which uses state "Safer Communities" funds, is the city's intervention arm meant to reduce violence by funding local organizations and maintaining a 10-person violence interruption (VI) team that works to prevent retaliation and provide immediate care after violent incidents.

  • "Bishop Bowser has dedicated more than 30 years to fighting gun violence in San Diego. In 2021, he helped launch the "No Shots Fired" program in collaboration with the city and San Diego Police Department. "It's a whole community of everyone working together to bring down violence," Bowser said. The "No Shots Fired" initiative takes a direct approach by working with gang members in the community. The program focuses on changing attitudes toward violence through cognitive behavioral therapy and gun safety courses."

    As an integral component of the peace movement, the No Shots Fired Pilot Intervention & Prevention Program is a two-phased, comprehensive outreach and wraparound supportive services program for gang members.

    The pilot program was started in 2021, and organizers say it has helped decrease gun violence and gang violence. According to the city of San Diego website, murders decreased by 25% from 2024 to 2025.

  • Reported crime figures in San Jose continued to decline in 2025, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Last year’s drop in violent crimes has accelerated a downward trend that began in 2024 after such crimes peaked the previous year. Violent crime last year fell 15% compared to 2024, while property crime dropped 7%, the figures show. These declines held across nearly all major crime categories, including aggravated assault, rape, robbery, theft, burglary and motor vehicle theft.

  • 2023 was one of the deadliest years on the streets of D.C. in decades, with 274 people killed. In 2024, that number dropped to 187. In 2025, the number of homicides has dropped to 128, the lowest number in eight years.

    There are two separate crime intervention programs in D.C. Cure the Streets is under the Office of the Attorney General and uses the standard model for street outreach. Then, there’s the Violence Intervention Initiative, which is under the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and has discretion to use its own models.

    Launched in 2018, the Violence Intervention Initiative is a collaborative community engagement strategy designed to support District residents and reduce the incidents of gun-related violence in District communities. The VI initiative accomplishes this work by:

    • Developing tactics to address potential conflicts

    • Stabilizing communities following a violent conflict

    • Offering support to individuals at high risk of being directly involved in violence, whether as a victim or perpetrator

    The VI initiative uses a three-pronged approach that incorporates a public health perspective and the provision of services to address residents’ physical and mental health needs. The approach focuses on all persons affected by violent acts, including victims, perpetrators, and their support systems/networks.