Community Violence Interventions as a Mechanism for Reimagining Public Safety

• In Event: Community-Based Interventions to Reduce Violence

Abstract

Due to post-pandemic increases in crime and the rising need for community driven public safety, community violence interventions (CVIs) have experienced increased access and opportunities for funding in the last four years. This provides an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of CVIs as an alternative to traditional public safety approaches. The parent study consists of semi-structured interviews conducted with community stakeholders participating in two CVIs in Salt Lake County regarding the implementation of these multidisciplinary community-based coalitions. This presentation will focus on community stakeholder conceptualizations of public safety throughout the implementation of a community violence interventions.
The research team conducted interviews (N=40) guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) with stakeholders in both the inner and outer settings (e.g., community members, coalition members, and system-level stakeholders). Findings support the need for prevention efforts that exist outside of traditional punitive approaches, do not replicate the root causes of community violence, and focus on restorative justice and a comprehensive conceptualization of public safety.

Authors

• Mariah Cowell Mercier, University of Utah

• Christian Sarver, University of Utah

• Emily Salisbury, University of Utah