Over the course of our careers, we have observed violence prevention efforts in large cities across the country. We’ve worked with professionals from both law enforcement and community violence intervention (CVI) organizations to reduce the plague of gun violence in urban environments. The work we have done in our respective fields has offered an up-close view of what separates successful violence reduction strategies from those that struggle to create lasting impact. Time and again, the strongest results emerge when cities invest in both public safety and professional CVI services as a combined strategy to build trust.
Looking at violence prevention holistically, Chicago has built one of the most sophisticated and effective CVI ecosystems in the country, and here is how it has evolved.
While no city has solved the gun violence epidemic completely, Chicago’s per capita homicide rate remains roughly double that of Los Angeles and roughly four to five times higher than New York City’s. Thus, leaders from Chicago toured several cities, including New York and Los Angeles, to gather best practices across the field. The result was Chicago building a CVI ecosystem built on professional standards, collaboration, accountability and community trust.
Collaboratives such as Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) and Scaling CVI for a Safer Chicago (SC2), along with a host of other partners, have created an infrastructure that is unique among major American cities. Together, they have established a common mission of fostering relationships with the communities most vulnerable to gun violence and connecting victims with the services that can support their healing.
The proof that this approach is working is in the results. In 2025, Chicago recorded its lowest homicide total in more than 60 years
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. Obviously, no single entity or strategy can claim all the credit, but community violence intervention has been an essential part of the progress alongside law enforcement; city, county and state leaders; the business community; philanthropy; faith leaders; and residents.Groups such as CP4P bring together 15 community-based organizations serving 29 communities across the region. Intentionality drives CP4P’s approach and the success achieved thus far. Trust, integrity, accountability, interdependence, learning, equity and respect are operating principles that guide their work across the neighborhoods they serve. These values set a standard that shapes how outreach workers engage with residents every day including providing a suite of services adjacent to CVI, such as behavioral health services, legal aid, workforce development and youth engagement.
Chicago’s collaborative structure stands out from most cities’ approach to violence interruption in part due to shared incident notifications among CVI partners, and regional meetings and asset coordination with public sector partners. This level of partnership aided in the development of the Government Alliance for Safe Communities (GASC), which operates across the county, city and state to improve collaboration and communication in the field.
Chicago has also heavily invested in professionalizing the field in ways few cities have matched. The Metropolitan Peace Academy (MPA), modeled after the Urban Peace Academy in Los Angeles, serves as a dedicated training center for violence intervention professionals and has helped matriculate more than 1,200 people through intensive training in street outreach, victim advocacy, case management, leadership development and other violence prevention practices, including hospital trauma recovery specialists and police officers. The academy reflects the belief that community violence intervention is a professional pathway built on training, standards and continuous learning.
One of the strongest examples of Chicago’s leadership in the field is the “professional understanding” established between CVI practitioners and the Chicago Police Department. Since 2023, this shared framework has helped define the complementary but independent roles of outreach professionals and law enforcement. It recognizes a shared goal of preventing violence and promoting community safety, while preserving the credibility outreach workers need to be effective. Outreach professionals do not function as law enforcement, nor do they share information or interfere with investigations. The model creates space for collaboration without compromising each partner’s role. More importantly, these practices are reinforced through ongoing cross trainings between CPD and CVI practitioners, moving collaboration beyond policy and into practice.
Through partnerships with Northwestern University’s Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research and Science (CORNERS) and other research partners, Chicago has built a robust framework for measuring impact and strengthening violence prevention strategies. Independent research has produced encouraging evidence, with studies showing a decrease in arrests for violence-related crimes among participants in CVI programming. In fact, alumni of Chicago CRED’s CVI programming were found to be 73% less likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
Cities such as Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Memphis have also demonstrated the value of investing in violence intervention. Yet Chicago’s collaborative infrastructure, training systems and data-informed coordination have helped position the city in good company among other major U.S. cities working toward creative solutions to a complex problem.
When cities invest in trusted relationships, professional practice and shared accountability, violence can be reduced and communities can heal. Chicago’s CVI ecosystem is proving that every day, and the rest of the country should be paying attention.
Charlie Beck is the former chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department and currently serves as senior adviser for the University of Chicago’s Policing Leadership Academy and Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy. Melvyn Hayward Jr. is a senior director with the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Community Safety and former chief program officer with Chicago CRED.
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