New data show violent crime fell 30-70% in areas served by four of Detroit’s ShotStoppers groups

• Four ShotStopper groups – Force Detroit, Detroit 300, Detroit Friends & Family, and New Era Community Connection – generated largest violence reductions, qualifying them for CVI program’s performance bonuses for 3rd Quarter of program
• Performance bonuses provided will allow groups with successful strategies to further invest in their programming
• Five of six Community Violence Intervention (CVI) groups achieved steep reductions in homicides and shootings in program’s 3rd Quarter, compared to one-year prior
• Third quarterly reporting period started February 1 and ended April 30.

New data from Detroit’s ShotStoppers community violence intervention (CVI) program shows that five of the City’s six CVI Zones – areas that consistently experience the most violent crime – saw significant reductions in homicides and non-fatal shootings during the program’s third quarter, Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison announced today. 

The report looks at homicides and shootings in the CVI and non-CVI areas for the timeframe of February 1 - April 30, 2024, and compares them against the same period one year earlier. Four of the five organizations seeing a reduction in violent crime earned the program’s quarterly performance bonus based on the data.

Five of the six ShotStopper areas experienced violence reductions of at least 22%, beating the average violence reduction outside the ShotStopper areas, which saw a 20% reduction. Specifically, Force Detroit saw a 67% reduction, New Era saw a 53% reduction, Detroit 300 saw a 42% reduction, and Detroit Friends and Family saw a 33% reduction. Detroit Peoples Community saw a 22% reduction, which is encouraging, but does not result in them earning a performance bonus for this quarter.

“Building on the program’s success in its 2nd Quarter, we are encouraged to see even more progress this time around as groups make adjustments to their strategies to meet the unique needs of each CVI zone and reduce violent crime,” said Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison. “With four groups receiving performance bonuses based on real results, even more money will be invested into the organizations doing the work on the ground in our neighborhoods.”

While many cities around the country provide funding for CVI programs, what makes the City of Detroit so unique is its performance-based approach that measures and rewards outcomes.  Bettison says based on the results so far, the City has extended the program for another year for four of the six groups that achieved significant declines in their third quarter.

Through the ShotStoppers initiative, six community-based organizations are implementing their own violence prevention strategies in a defined “CVI Zone,” serving neighborhoods hardest hit by violence. 

Four groups earn performance incentives

Groups are measured by the number of homicides and non-fatal shootings in their Zone compared to areas of the City not served by CVI and can earn significant performance grants by achieving reductions.

In the third quarter of the program, four ShotStoppers earned performance grants:

• FORCE Detroit earned a performance grant of $175,000 for achieving a 67% reduction in homicides and non-fatal shootings in its westside CVI Zone that includes the Warrendale and Franklin Park neighborhoods.
• New Era Community Connection earned a performance grant of $175,000 for achieving a 53% reduction in homicides and non-fatal shootings in its westside CVI Zone that includes the Harmony Village and Bethune Community neighborhoods.
• Detroit 300 earned a performance grant of $175,000 for achieving a 42% reduction in homicides and non-fatal shootings in its westside CVI Zone that includes the Grandmont and Hubbell-Lyndon, neighborhoods.
• Detroit Friends and Family earned a performance grant of $87,500 for a 33% violence reduction in its eastside CVI Zone that includes the Outer Drive-Hayes neighborhood and nearby areas.

Detroit 300 has seen very promising results in the 3rd Quarter after a strategy pivot, working with other successful CVI groups including Force Detroit and Detroit Friends and Family. President Eric Ford of Detroit 300 talked of how they have been able to see the results they did this quarter. “We have been proactively going into our communities talking to folks, helping people. We also have hired violence interrupters, and that helps us as an organization to have more boots on the ground.”

“What Detroit 300 has done in collaboration with the other ShotStopper organizations is just awesome,” said Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison. “Bringing these hard-working groups together to better serve the residents of Detroit was one of the outcomes we hoped to achieve through this initiative.”

The six ShotStoppers groups began work on August 1, 2023, with much of the first quarter dedicated to program start-up. During the second quarter, Force Detroit and Detroit Friends and Family saw a reduction of 72% and 48% respectively. Now that the ShotStoppers program has completed their third quarter, the program has showed even greater results, with five groups achieving declines comparable to or greater than the citywide trend:

How ShotStoppers works

ShotStoppers is made possible with a $10 million investment from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. Each ShotStoppers group receives a base budget of $175,000 per quarter to implement their violence prevention strategy. Each group can earn up to $175,000 more in performance grants each quarter by achieving reductions in violence. While each group’s strategy varies, many use staff with lived experience of violence to intervene and peacefully resolve disputes before they turn violent, as well as mentor at-risk individuals to help them pursue other paths.

Performance is measured by comparing the “CVI Score” – equal to homicides multiplied by two plus non-fatal shootings – within each group’s Zone to the same quarter during the prior year. To earn a performance grant, a grantee must 1) reduce the CVI Score below its prior-year level and 2) achieve a decline at least 10 percentage points greater than the decline in areas of the City not served by CVI. Groups that beat the citywide trend by 10 – 19 percentage points earn $87,500, and groups that beat the trend by 20 percentage points or more earn $175,000 for that quarter.

Based on the program results so far, Mayor Duggan and Deputy Mayor Bettison have extended the program for one year (from summer 2024 through summer 2025) for four groups: FORCE Detroit, Detroit Friends and Family, New Era Community Connection, and Detroit People’s Community.

In addition, the Administration extended the program for three months (from summer 2024 through early fall 2024) for the other two ShotStoppers groups: Detroit 300 and Wayne Metro/Denby Alliance/Camp Restore. This extension will provide the groups additional time to implement, refine, and measure their strategies, with the goal of achieving the types of reductions seen in other Zones.