Community Justice Releases 2023 Violence Prevention Index, A Scorecard to Track City Investments in Comprehensive Public Health-Based Violence Prevention Strategies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2024
Contact: CJAF@skdknick.com
Community Justice Releases 2023 Violence Prevention Index, A Scorecard to Track City Investments in Comprehensive Public Health-Based Violence Prevention Strategies
Washington - Today, Community Justice unveiled their second annual City Violence Prevention Index (VPI) and scorecard, the first and only national analysis of municipalities’ programs, services, and policies designed to reduce gun and other forms of violence. The 2023 VPI scorecard assessed and ranked for the first time 100 U.S. cities with the highest incidents of gun violence in 2021 and 2022 based on 35 criteria spanning three categories: Intervention and Risk Factor Reduction, Addressing the Root Causes of Violence, and Local Offices of Violence Prevention.
The Community Justice Violence Prevention Index (VPI) evaluates the structural framework and resources each rated municipality has established for community violence prevention readiness. This measure is an important assessment of the policies and protocols needed to effectively reduce gun violence in Black and brown communities over time. This second annual report is not a companion to crime statistics, but rather a policy-centric report card for local lawmakers seeking effective solutions to prevent gun violence.
The VPI does not currently assess the sufficiency of city funding levels or the quality of individual programs and services; VPI scores are intended to reflect cities’ readiness to tackle gun violence as opposed to their effectiveness in doing so. While some locations may have implemented the framework recommended in this report, that does not mean that local officials in these communities are supporting and listening to community-based violence prevention organizations as they should.
“The gun violence epidemic continues to tear apart communities, senselessly cutting lives short and inflicting indescribable devastation on families across America,” said Amber Goodwin, Founder of Community Justice. “This work is about listening, learning, and supporting the work of the advocates and folks on the frontlines. We have ample research supporting the success of community violence intervention programs proven to end gun violence. Now it’s on leaders across the country to step up and ensure that they invest in the necessary infrastructure to curb gun violence, especially in Black and brown communities disproportionately impacted by this crisis. Community Justice looks forward to working with local leaders and advocates to end this epidemic with solutions we know are effective and save communities money and lives.”
“The Community Justice Violence Prevention Index is a valuable tool for cities to see where they are investing, while also highlighting where they have opportunities to improve their processes,” said Anthony D. Smith, Executive Director of Cities United and Board Chair of Community Justice. “The VPI is also a great tool for the work we do at Cities United, it shows us the cities' readiness to develop, implement, and sustain a comprehensive public safety plan. If cities use this report for what it’s designed for, we will see more lives saved.”
This year’s report found that the vast majority of cities across the country with the most severe levels of gun violence are failing substantially in investing in a holistic public health approach to violence prevention. Additional key findings of the 2023 VPI include:
The national average score of VPI-rated cities increased 28 percent year-over-year.
Forty-one percent of rated localities have a whole-of-government strategic violence prevention plan that incorporates public health strategies, a slight increase from 2022 (38%).
Cities performed the poorest on the Addressing the Root Causes of Violence division of the VPI scorecard, which assesses a wide array of targeted programs and policies designed to abate the many systemic drivers of violence in the areas of housing and food security, employment, education, health, youth and families, firearm regulations, and crime reporting and data.
More municipalities are adopting local offices of violence prevention or functional equivalents — 52% of rated cities met this standard in 2023, a notable increase from 42% in 2022.
The VPI was created to encourage local governments to invest in violence intervention and prevention strategies that are evidence-based, community-led, and anchored in a public health approach. This report lays out a comprehensive roadmap of violence intervention and prevention strategies and policies that are most impactful for the Black and brown communities most impacted by gun violence. As recent major federal funding streams approach expiration, the report also calls on cities to ensure that robust investments in violence prevention programs are permanent components of their general fund budgets.
In the weeks ahead, Community Justice will partner with local advocates to host events in several communities across the country, starting in Austin, TX, to highlight the report’s findings and call on local leaders to continue investing in community violence intervention programs.
The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city, as well as a searchable database, is available online.
Local Advocate Quotes:
"I applaud Community Justice for giving on-the-ground experts like myself a framework to hold our elected officials accountable and help us broaden our toolbox tools to end gun violence. We can not do this work without the proper funding, support, or partnerships with these small nonprofit organizations,” said Bennie Price, Program Director CVI, Big Mama’s Safe House G.R.E.A.T. TEAM. “It is Community Violence Intervention and Prevention that is having the biggest impact in communities with the highest risk of gun violence victims and perpetrators. I am a living witness to the impact of reducing gun violence when using CVI strategies. This updated VPI report demonstrates that in places like San Antonio, credible messengers must continue to be part of the fabric of the community they serve and have lived experiences in - and we must be supported comprehensively by our elected officials. Our roles are to connect the highest-risk individuals to services that address the root causes of violence, helping them avoid and resolve conflicts that normally lead to gun violence and death. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for our youth, which makes gun violence the biggest threat to our public safety, and as the VPI report shows, nonprofit grassroots organizations like ours should have the biggest investments to keep us safe."
"The Violence Prevention Index is a valuable tool that provides city officials and community leaders with irrefutable data to make informed decisions and strategic and equitable investments in solutions,” said Jonathan McMillan, Director of Firearm-Related Harm Prevention, Trailhead Institute. “We know that gun violence is three things: a communicable disease, the outcome of inequity policies that address the symptoms and not the root causes of violence, and preventable and solvable. Solving gun violence requires the same investments in resources and communities that were made to end the public health crisis that was the COVID-19 pandemic."
"The 2023 report from Community Justice is groundbreaking and will help state-level organizations like Texas Gun Sense support and educate people across the state about the work happening on the ground,” said Nicole Golden, Executive Director of Texas Gun Sense. “As an ally and partner to Community Justice and groups on the ground here in Texas, we know that Black and brown-led policy and comprehensive systems need to not only be supported, but also properly executed and funded. This report lays out the exact framework for readiness that cities need to get right to move forward and save lives."
"This report is extremely knowledgeable and I applaud Community Justice for continuing to hold policymakers accountable for their readiness to build out public safety work across the country. While some cities ranked high still have higher rates of crime - this just means we have more work to do to make sure that cities are properly implementing their plans,” said Myesha Watkins, Executive Director of Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance. “As a Black woman helping to lead this work in Cleveland and neighboring cities - with plans to support the state of Ohio - as well as across the country as a part of the CVI Leadership Academy, this report is the exact type of tool we need on the ground to show the community what our leaders could be doing to save lives."
"The VPI report is a critical tool to shine a light on the framework needed for a plan to save lives. While a city like DC remains resource heavy, the city lacks a comprehensive strategic plan that has actually been implemented that would empower those very resources to work together,” said Marcus T. Ellis, Executive Director of Peace for DC. “If cities follow these VPI recommendations then we would not have to press the restart button several times causing significant setbacks in progress. I look forward to continuing to work with CJ and other local leaders to hold the city up to these standards.”
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Community Justice is a non-partisan project of Tides Center and builds power for communities of color to end gun violence.