Without careful planning, coordinated anti-violence efforts are difficult to sustain. With goals established and key people and places identified, stakeholders should develop practical and actionable plans outlining commitments, focusing resources, and solidifying partnerships.
DOJ has training and technical assistance resources to help local jurisdictions set goals, perform analyses, and develop plans for reducing crime and violence. Flexible grant funding can support these activities as well. Helpful reports, publications, and other materials are also provided. Key resources are identified below, followed by links to additional resources. These same resources are also listed for Actions 1 and 2, since these three are related to one another.
Key Resources
Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative
The Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative provides funding to support evidence-based violence intervention and prevention programs. The Bureau of Justice Assistance CVIPI webpage provides access to a variety of resources for planning, implementing, supporting, and assessing community-based violence intervention and prevention efforts. CVIPI funding can support some components of identifying where and among whom violence is concentrating.
Bureau of Justice Assistance National Training and Technical Assistance Center
The BJA National Training and Technical Assistance Center connects justice agencies with national experts to help reduce violent and drug-related crime. A specific Violence Reduction Response Center connects localities with resources to help address the work of identifying where and among whom violence is concentrating. Jurisdictions interested in implementing strategies outlined in the Roadmap may also contact NTTAC to request TTA from the Police Executive Research Forum. In collaboration with BJA and a cadre of subject matter experts, PERF will coordinate no-cost TTA services designed to enhance jurisdictions’ capacity to reduce community gun violence and promote community trust.
Project Safe Neighborhoods is spearheaded by each U.S. Attorney’s Office, bringing together federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, community leaders and other stakeholders to identify their most pressing violent crime problems and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. The PSN website includes training resources for all localities working to reduce violence, including a gun violence resource hub. Localities should connect with their United States Attorney’s Office to better understand these resources.
National Public Safety Partnership
The National Public Safety Partnership is a network of communities who are committed to implementing evidence-informed approaches to reducing violence and enhancing public safety. It is a DOJ-wide program that connects communities with peers and experts to receive coordinated training and technical assistance. There are many resources available to all jurisdictions – including virtual training academies and published materials - through the Clearinghouse, including numerous resources supporting the identification of individuals and locations most at-risk of violence.
Group Violence Intervention: An Implementation Guide
The Group Violence Intervention reduces violent crime by joining together community members with law enforcement and social service providers to deliver an anti-violence message to groups driving violence. This guide offers comprehensive tools to practitioners—be they community members, law enforcement, or government officials—who seek to introduce proven strategies to their communities, build a partnership of stakeholders, turn strategies into action plans, and sustain their results. The guide presents the important elements of a strategy and recommends a general path along which communities should proceed.
Additional Resources
Grant Funding
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program is a formula award administered to each state and territory, based on their population and violent crime. The award is divided between the state (60%) and direct to local (40%) units of government. JAG funding is administered by a state agency. JAG funds are extremely flexible in ways they can support violent crime reduction and can be used for planning and evaluation activities, and community engagement. Localities should contact their State Administering Agency or the National Criminal Justice Association.
Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Program
This funding seeks to support small and rural agencies in their efforts to combat violent crime. This program will provide funding to small and rural agencies and to prosecutors who are interested in implementing or improving the capacity of their organization around one or more critical elements found in the Violent Crime Reductions Operations Guide or the Prosecutors’ Guide to Reducing Violence and Building Safer Communities.