As a longtime advocate for justice system reform, I know that community violence is a result of myriad interconnecting factors, including disinvestment and lack of opportunity that have been omnipresent in many of our neighborhoods for decades. I believe that to truly create safety in all communities, we need to take a “both/and” approach: moving upstream to address the root causes of violence and implement proven prevention strategies, while at the same time working to address multigenerational acute and systemic traumas that affect individuals and communities.
One of my first steps as the city of Chicago’s first deputy mayor for community safety was to engage with residents and other stakeholders who feel the effects of community violence most acutely. Working collaboratively, my team built a platform to eradicate root causes of violence and to respond to crises with trauma-informed intervention. Thus was born the People’s Plan for Community Safety, a road map for intentional, purposeful investments in people- and place-based strategies.
This past summer was the first since the launch of the People’s Plan in which the city worked to implement new strategic investments. While there is certainly much more work to do, we have begun to see early successes through reductions in incidence of violence across several key metrics, even as we continue to assess what is working and plan for the future. Year to date, there has been a 5% drop in shooting incidents, a 10% reduction in robberies and an 8% decrease in homicides.
One pillar of our plan, an area with a proven positive impact, is our investment in community violence interrupters, or street outreach programs, in which trained outreach workers engage directly with individuals at immediate risk of violence. Through incident response, conflict de-escalation, safe-space activations and peace-building initiatives, street outreach teams work tirelessly to support and connect with individuals in need. Researchers from Northwestern University assessing the impact of the Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) coalition — a community violence intervention (CVI) initiative — found that CP4P’s efforts may have helped prevent nearly 400 shooting incidents and numerous violent crime arrests in their coverage areas compared with similar neighborhoods in Chicago.
We also leveraged our full force of government approach to pilot a new rapid response model, coordinating and deploying city and community resources quickly and effectively immediately after violent incidents to ensure prompt assistance and comprehensive support for victims and communities. We activated this response 40 times over the summer as part of a broader strategy to help families work toward recovery and healing. Increasing support to victims and survivors through trauma-informed, community-based interventions is key to preventing further violence, which is why it is also one of the pillars in the People’s Plan.
Chicago is one of the first cities in the nation to create a victim services fund to provide rapid financial support for residents affected by gun violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, financial support and victim services provide stability and reduce risk factors associated with retaliation or further victimizations, helping break the cycle of violence. Through the Chicago Department of Health (CDPH), the Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund (ESVF) helps alleviate the immediate financial burdens that follow traumatic events. Earlier this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a $6.4 million expansion to be rolled out over the next two years. Partially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the ESVF program will distribute funds through victim services and street outreach organizations supported by the CDPH in communities most affected by violence.
Chicago is similarly pioneering gun violence prevention by addressing the problem at the source, filing a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against gunmaker Glock for manufacturing and selling pistols that can easily be turned into illegal machine guns using a device commonly known as a Glock switch. And we are working to quickly get shooters off the street through a new Crime Gun Intervention Center that brings together 65 agents, officers, analysts and prosecutors to jointly analyze gun crime intelligence. We will continue to partner with the Chicago Police Department to address and prevent violence happening now.
It is heartening to see progress being made, but I am under no illusion that we have fully achieved our goals. Change is incremental, and the complexities of the challenges mean we must contend with many factors simultaneously to fully address community disinvestment.
Which is why we call on all Chicagoans to join us and play a role in investing in communities, promoting prevention and planting the seeds of safety by volunteering with a community-based organization or local school, signing up to mentor a young person, or hiring people from all communities and backgrounds. If you have any safety concerns, please call 911 or use the 311 app or hotline to report them.
We are committed to collaborating with community in every aspect of our work and invite you to join us at our next quarterly meeting in Austin on Tuesday. Because when we work together, we can promote lives full of opportunity and promise for all Chicago families and communities and build a safer Chicago.
Garien Gatewood is deputy mayor of community safety for the city of Chicago.
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