Interim Evaluation of San Francisco’s Violence Reduction Initiative

• In Event: Evaluations of Law Enforcement Strategies and Interventions

Abstract

The City of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) implemented the Violent Reduction Initiative (VRI) in one city district beginning in 2020. This study assesses program activities and evaluates the VRI’s impact on homicides and non-fatal shootings in the target district. Combining law enforcement with community mobilization and social service provision, this intervention aimed to alter the behavior of high-risk individuals in the most violent district. The intervention was implemented in 2020 but experienced program changes during the first two years. Focused enforcement began in 2021, with the community mobilization and social service provision components launched in 2022. Program data shows that direct communications with high-risk people, enrollment in VRI programming, and case management hours invested in clients increased notably between 2022 and 2023. Analyses of homicides and non-fatal shootings before and after the intervention indicates that the VRI was associated with a 50% reduction in both outcomes in the treated district relative to the rest of San Francisco. Although the results of this interim assessment should be interpreted with caution, the success of the VRI implementation in San Francisco suggests that other cities could benefit from implementing similar interventions in areas experiencing high levels of violence.

Authors

• Lisa Barao, University of Pennsylvania

• Stephen David Douglas, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

• Anthony Braga, University of Pennsylvania