Baton Rouge, LA – February 23, 2023 – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome joins four cities across the United States in a violence intervention cohort advised by the recently launched Coalition to Advance Public Safety (CAPS). Baton Rouge has teamed up with Indianapolis, Baltimore and Newark. The partnership includes four nationally recognized agencies — Community Based Public Safety Collective, Hospital AVI, NICJR, and Cities United — to advance best practices, strategies, and operational planning based on lessons learned in support of the Biden Administration’s 18-month-long White House Community Violence Intervention Collaborative (CVIC). 

“Over the last two years, my administration has worked together with the community to build a Community Violence Intervention ecosystem that approaches public safety from all views and strategies,” says Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. “CAPS will work hand in hand with my administration to implement a comprehensive slate of strategies that address all violence dynamics.”

In Phase II of Safe, Hopeful, Healthy BR, Broome’s administration aims to connect a city-based violence prevention infrastructure that prioritizes interagency department solutions for neighborhood safety, employment and education, and health and human services.

The goal is to provide adequate funding and coordination, with a shared vision of public safety to maximize the response to high-risk people and make violence reduction sustainable.

The initiative will allow city leaders and local CVI organizations to expand their current action plans, with a goal to reduce gun homicides and non-fatal shootings by 20 percent over five years. The Coalition to Advance Public Safety will systematically deploy the leading technical assistance and training providers to work in these cities and reinforce sustained, effective violence intervention initiatives.