DETROIT – You might have heard that the city of Detroit partners with six Community Violence Intervention groups -- but who are they and what do they do?
Meet the 6 Community Violence Intervention groups
In June 2023, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan chose six community-based organizations to help cut down on murders and shootings in certain areas of the city.
This is part of the “ShotStoppers” program, which was funded by the $10 million Detroit received as part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act.
Each group is responsible for a 3.5- to 4.5-square-mile area, which is known as a Community Violence Intervention zone, or CVI zone.
Duggan said the city originally intended to choose 3-5 groups, but they received six proposals (out of 25 total) that were too strong to turn down.
Here are the six CIVs:
- Detroit Peoples Community.
- Detroit 300.
- New Era Community Connection.
- Force Detroit.
- Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Denby Neighborhood Alliance, and Camp Restore.
- Detroit Friends and Family.
Each group was directed to use its own violence prevention strategies based on their experience and knowledge of their communities.
They receive a quarterly base budget of $175,000 to carry out their strategy.
If their efforts reduce serious violence by 10% more than the city as a whole, they earn an additional $87,500 in prevention funds for that quarter. If they do so by 20%, that bonus doubles to $175,000.
Early success
Two of the groups -- Force Detroit and Detroit Friends & Family -- earned the program’s first performance bonuses during a March 2024 evaluation.
Those groups were the most successful in reducing serious violence from Nov. 1, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2024.
Four of the six CVIs saw a “steep reduction” in murders and shootings during that period -- which was the program’s second quarter -- when compared to the previous year.
Force Detroit’s zone experienced a 72% decrease in those crimes, while crimes in Detroit Friends & Family’s zone dropped by nearly 50%.
That means Force Detroit earned a performance grant of $175,000 for reducing crime in the area of the Warrendale and Franklin Park neighborhoods.
Detroit Friends & Family received $87,500 for its efforts in the area of the Outer Drive-Hayes neighborhood.
The report evaluated murders and shootings in the CVI and non-CVI areas from Nov. 1, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2024. Those crime rates were compared to the same time period from the previous year.
You can see much more about those results in the document at the bottom of this page.
“Mayor Duggan, with the support of our City Council, asked us to take a new approach to reducing violent crime by letting organizations that are known and trusted in the community implement their own strategies,” said Deputy Mayor Bettison, who leads the project. “While still early in the program, the results show immense promise. Every quarter is a chance for us to see which strategies are working and how adjustments can be made, and we are very encouraged by the results so far.”
Here’s how all six CVIs performed in that time period:
- Force Detroit: 72% drop in murders and shootings within their zone.
- Detroit Friends & Family: 48% drop.
- New Era: 35% drop.
- Detroit People’s Community: 27% drop.
- Wayne Metro/Denby Neighborhood Alliance/Camp Restore: 9% drop.
- Detroit 300: No decline.
Meanwhile, the non-CVI areas across the city saw a 37% drop. That means Force Detroit saw a decrease 35 points greater than the city as a whole, while Detroit Friends & Family saw a drop of 11 additional points.
These percentages are calculated by multiplying all murders within a group’s zone by two and adding one for each non-fatal shooting.
Groups extended
After seeing the initial results, Detroit officials decided to extend four groups -- Force Detroit, Detroit Friends & Family, New Era, and Detroit People’s Community -- for a year.
Those groups will now operate at least through the summer of 2025.
The other two groups were extended for three months, through the early fall of 2024. That extension was designed to give both groups time to refine their strategies.
Previous coverage
Demond Fernandez helped introduce you to this program earlier this year. You can watch his story here:
Victor Williams showed you how regular people are helping to make Detroit safe. You can watch his story here:
Mara MacDonald broke down more about this program in April 2024. You can watch her story here:
Rod Meloni reported in June 2024 about the early success of the program. You can watch his story here:
More numbers
Here is a more in-depth look at the statistics from November 2023 through January 2024.
