Oakland Recognized as Statewide Model for Gun Violence Reduction

OAKLAND, CA — The City of Oakland today welcomed its recognition as a featured case study in California Attorney General Rob Bonta's landmark report released this week, A Strategic Plan to Sustain California's Record Progress Against Gun Violence. Attorney General Bonta’s strategic plan outlines statewide recommendations for sustaining California’s historic declines in gun violence, focusing on data-driven approaches, community violence intervention, and continued investment. The report documents how California has achieved its lowest rates of firearm death and homicide since 1967. It identifies Oakland as both a powerful example of what sustained, evidence-based gun violence prevention strategies that include community violence intervention (CVI) and focused policing can achieve, and a cautionary tale about what happens when that commitment falters. 

“Gun violence is a public health, social justice, and equity challenge that demands focused, community-driven solutions,” said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. “In Oakland, we’ve incorporated an approach that balances data-driven enforcement and proven violence intervention strategies— including street outreach, hospital-based response, youth diversion, and intensive case management—into the core of our public safety approach. Our comprehensive strategy of data-centric efforts from our Police Department coupled with the community-based focus of the Department of Violence Prevention are delivering clear results: when we invest in communities, we save lives and achieve real, lasting progress.” 

Oakland's Historic Progress 

Since reinvigorating its violence reduction strategy in early 2024, Oakland has cut homicides and shootings by 49% in just two years. In 2025, the city recorded its lowest number of homicides since 1967 — when Oakland's population was significantly smaller. That momentum has continued into 2026, with year-to-date figures showing total homicides down 38% and assaults with a firearm down 9%, building on double-digit reductions in both 2024 and 2025. 

These results reflect a disciplined, data-driven strategy focused on individuals at the very highest risk of gun violence, delivering credible, community-based outreach, services, and intervention. Oakland's approach has deep roots: in the 1990s, the local organization Youth Alive! developed one of the first national models for hospital-linked violence intervention — a model that went on to influence cities across the country.  

In 2012, as Oakland's homicide rate reached nearly seven times the national average, community and faith leaders partnered with City government to launch the Ceasefire-Lifeline Gun Violence Reduction Strategy, cutting homicides and injury shootings nearly in half between 2012 and 2018. Independent evaluators attributed most of those reductions directly to the focused deterrence strategy. 

A Cautionary Tale — and a Comeback 

Oakland's story also carries a clear warning. When the City disinvested from its focused deterrence strategy between 2019 and 2023 — allowing core elements to be, in the words of an independent audit, "significantly watered down, resources stripped away, or refocused" — homicides climbed from 67 in 2018 to 119 in 2023. Since early 2024, Oakland has recommitted to its evidence-based model with renewed focus and significant results. Attorney General Bonta's report highlights this arc as a demonstration of both the power of focused deterrence and the real costs of inconsistent investment. 

Funding Cuts Now Threaten Oakland's Comeback 

Even as Oakland celebrates record progress, the City faces renewed funding pressures. In 2025, changes to federal CVIPI funding structures and reductions eliminated millions previously supporting Oakland's CVI ecosystem. In early 2026, Oakland's state CalVIP grant expired, and the City's renewal application was not selected for an award. In fact, only 10% of CalVIP applicants received funding. The Department of Violence Prevention and its community partners are now navigating the impact of these cuts — at precisely the moment when their work is delivering historic results. 

"Oakland's story demonstrates what is possible when we commit fully to community violence intervention — and what is at risk when that commitment is inconsistent," said Holly Joshi, Chief of Oakland's Department of Violence Prevention. "We know what works, and the evidence is clear. Community violence intervention is a professional field with trained practitioners, proven methods, and measurable results. We are grateful to Attorney General Bonta for recognizing Oakland's progress and for sounding the alarm about the funding challenges we now face. We are calling on our state and federal partners to sustain the investments that have made these historic reductions possible." 

The City of Oakland urges state and federal policymakers to treat community violence intervention as the essential public health and safety investment it is, and to protect the programs and partnerships that have brought Oakland — and California — to this historic moment. 

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