Portland, Ore.—Today, for the second year in a row, the City of Portland has ranked in top 10 cities nationwide for its investment in community-based violence intervention programs.
The Community Violence Prevention Index, put together by the Community Action Justice Fund, scores cities by weighing 35 recommendations, including: immediate intervention, risk factor reduction, education, and the establishment and programming of an office of violence prevention.
Read the report here: 2023 Violence Prevention Index Report
The City of Portland scored 77 out of 100 on the VPI in 2023, compared to 39 out of 100 in 2022. The average city score is 32.
“I’m impressed by, and grateful for, the hard work of the Community Safety Division, the Ceasefire team, the Office of Violence Prevention, and the many partners these teams work with every day to make Portland safer for everyone,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler. “These teams are dedicated to improving the lives of Portlanders and working with the community to prevent harm from happening in the first place. While our work is not done, it is important to make it clear that my resolve to keep this trend moving in the right direction is stronger than ever.”
The 2023 VPI score, along with a 21% decrease in gun homicides from 2022 to 2023, proves investments into the City of Portland’s gun violence reduction strategy have worked. This includes shoring up funding for the Office of Violence Prevention’s Intensive Case Management and Street Level Outreach programs, as well as Portland Ceasefire.
“We’re optimistic our efforts are making real, tangible changes to driving down gun violence, but we know the work is far from over,” Community Safety Division Transition Director Mike Myers said. “We’ve seen a steep decrease in gun homicides and shootings over the last year, and we look forward to continuing the hard work being done by the Office of Violence Prevention and our community-based organizations in the coming months.”
Mayor Ted Wheeler's Director for Community Safety Stephanie Howard, CSD Transition Director Mike Myers, Portland Police Assistant Chief Chris Gjovik, Office of Violence Prevention Director Marcell Frazier, and Ceasefire Program Director Sierra Ellis spoke in depth about Portland’s gun violence reduction strategy during a work session for City Council last month: