Source: Poverty Solutions
Detroit saw a 45% decrease in homicides and nonfatal shootings in a three-year period when the city launched its ShotStoppers program that equipped community-based groups to intervene and deescalate violent situations, according to a University of Michigan analysis.
Not to be confused with ShotSpotter—Detroit’s gunshot detection system now known as SoundThinking—ShotStoppers is a community violence intervention program that empowers community members to disrupt violence in their neighborhoods, separate from law enforcement response.
ShotStoppers is one of many efforts—including Project Green Light and Ceasefire—the city of Detroit, Detroit Police Department and other groups have made in recent years to address gun violence in the city.
Launched in 2023, ShotStoppers funds selected community-based organizations, known as Community Violence Intervention teams, to develop and implement strategies to address violence in specific CVI zones, 3-to-5-square-mile areas of Detroit that have historically experienced high levels of gun violence.
A new evaluation of ShotStoppers by U-M’s Poverty Solutions found that in the second year of the program, CVI zones saw a 33% decrease in homicide victims and a 38% decrease in nonfatal shooting victims from August 2024 to July 2025, compared to the previous 12 months.
Continue reading the story from Poverty Solutions
