Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS)

In January 2022, the City of Baltimore launched the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) in partnership with the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) and the State's Attorney's Office (SAO).  

This proven strategy aims to address the norms perpetuating violence in Baltimore by focusing resources on individuals identified as being at the highest acute risk of involvement in gun violence. GVRS, also known as focused deterrence, is a nationally recognized approach that has the strongest formal evaluation record of any violence prevention initiative designed to reduce homicides and non-fatal shootings.   

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The strategy works by engaging directly with those most intimately involved in and affected by violence, leveraging an intentional collaboration between law enforcement, social services, and community members who collectively co-sign and deliver an anti-violence message to stop the shooting. GVRS includes daily coordination between MONSE, BPD and SAO as well as service providers Roca and Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) and community moral voice.  The GVRS message is grounded in the following core parts:  

  • Every person and community needs and deserves to be safe;  

  • Violence is often driven by a very small number of groups and people, and;  

  • To increase safety, we must collectively focus on that small number of people in order to support high-risk individuals in their daily lives, communicate community norms in support of everybody’s safety and success, and where necessary create swift, certain, and legitimate sanctions for activities conducive to violence.  

GVRS is currently active in five police districts, the Western, Southwestern, Eastern, Central, and Southern. 

Our Providers  

Reports  
Analyzing the Impact of Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy in the Western District | Crime and Justice Policy Lab, University of Pennsylvania, 2024 

Analyzing Crime Displacement from Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy | Crime and Justice Policy Lab, University of Pennsylvania, 2022