Kalamazoo, MI began implementing the Group Violence Intervention in 2016 with the help of the National Network. City leaders on the ground have worked closely with National Network staff to ensure a strong, effective implementation.
Less than half of one percent of Kalamazoo residents are involved in more than half of the city's homicides and shootings.
People who disproportionately commit violent acts and suffer from them often are associated with street groups, police said. It's why the city's department of public safety is committed to a program to reduce gang violence, an initiative beginning to yield results.
"Groups" are described by police as loose affiliations of people, who may be in gangs but are not necessarily formally organized.
According to statistics provided by Chief Karianne Thomas during a May 29 City Commission work session, shootings involving members of groups identified by police decreased from 18 to 3 between 2014-17
In this article and an accompanying TV news segment, WWMT introduces Kalamazoo's GVI implementation, which incorporates a "weekly round table wth an alphabet soup of law enforcement officers."
Kalamazoo's GVI implementation involves a broad-based partnership that includes the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Michigan Department of Corrections Probation and Parole, Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan, the Northside Ministerial Alliance, and the Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy & Action in the Community.
