WATCH: Chicago Community Violence Intervention Advocates Reflect on Historic Declines in Violence, Say There’s More Work to Be Done
The historic drop in violent crime that was recently reported in the city of Chicago is a positive sign that Community Violence Intervention (CVI) works, but CVI advocates believe there’s still more work to be done to make the city safer. WTTW invited Vaughn Bryant, Executive Director of Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI); Teny Gross, CEO of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago (INVC); and Jahmal Cole, CEO and founder of My Block, My Hood, My City, to discuss the recent declines and share cautious optimism for future trends.
The Chicago Police Department marked a 32% decline in homicides and a 39% decline in shootings through the first half of 2025. Other crimes, like aggravated assaults, batteries, robberies, and carjackings were down, as well.
“It makes me happy, but still cautiously optimistic, because it can change,” Bryant shared with WTTW. “It’s unpredictable, but to know that there are 500 fewer victims that’s a good thing, in my mind.”
But numbers don’t get at the heart of the reductions in violence this year. Community-based violence intervention, like street outreach and wraparound social services, are a burgeoning but essential part of Chicago’s public safety strategy. “We built together the largest civilian infrastructure in the United States,” Gross shared. “Now there’s, between staff and people on stipend, about 2,000 people, many of them with backgrounds involved in peace operations. There is a significant investment in civilians to do this work.”