In recent years, communities across the country have experienced substantial increases in gun violence. While some localities have made progress in reducing violence, pressing concerns remain for residents, community and business leaders, law enforcement officials, public health providers, and more. In response to these concerns, the United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has funded PERF to coordinate this training and technical assistance (TTA), which will be tailored to each community’s unique needs and violent crime issues. Police, prosecutors, city officials, and jurisdictions can request TTA on how to reduce violent crime while building community trust using the Ten Essential Actions developed by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ). 

TTA Approach to Localized Community Violence Reduction

The TTA will help agencies implement the ten essential action items:

  1. Set a clear goal: Commit to saving lives by stopping violence.
  2. Identify the key people and places driving the violence.
  3. Create a citywide plan for engaging key people and places.
  4. Engage key people with empathy and accountability.
  5. Address key locations using place-based policing and investment.
  6. Place responsibility for violence-reductions efforts at the top.
  7. Emphasize healing with trauma-informed approaches.
  8. Invest in anti-violence workforce development.
  9. Set aside funding for new stakeholders and strategies.
  10. Commit to continuous improvement based on data, evidence, and peer-to-peer learning.

The “menu” of TTA, based on each requester’s needs, will include provision of resources, referral to other DOJ-funded TTA providers, virtual TTA sessions, and more in-depth on-site TTA including a needs assessment brief and strategic plan outline. Click here to see examples of the TTA that could be provided for each of the ten action items.

PERF has extensive experience providing TTA and resources to police departments across the country, including its BJA-funded reports – Promising Strategies for Strengthening Homicide Investigations Report and Operational Strategies to Build Police-Community Trust and Reduce Crime in Minority Communities.

Requesting TTA

To request TTA, please contact Rachel Apfelbaum, PERF Senior Research Associate, at [email protected]. 

Webinar

 

In this webinar, the Police Executive Research Forum illustrated how jurisdictions have successfully reduced crime by implementing strategies in alignment with the 10 essential actions. PERF also shared how we can arrange no-cost training and technical assistance to jurisdictions on implementing similar strategies tailored to their community’s specific needs.

Speakers:

  • Rachel Apfelbaum, Senior Research Associate, PERF
  • Willie Barney, CEO, Omaha Empowerment Network
  • Shantay Jackson, Director, Offices for Violence Prevention Network, National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
  • Kristen Mahoney, Director of Policy, Government and Partner Engagement, University of Chicago's Crime Lab
  • Jeffrey Norman, Chief, Milwaukee Police Department
  • Rachel Santos, Ph.D., Professor, Radford University’s Department of Criminal Justice
  • Todd Schmaderer, Chief, Omaha Police Department
  • Dr. Chico Tillmon, Director, University of Chicago’s Crime Lab – CVI Leadership Academy
  • Chuck Wexler, Executive Director, PERF

 

This webpage is funded in whole through a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this web page or site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).