ICYMI: Report Shows the Correlation Between Community Violence Intervention Programs and the Decrease in Violence in Austin
Travis County, TX — In case you missed it, last Thursday Scaling Safety released its report, “How Austin Became Safer: Community Partnerships and Decline in Violent Crime,” through its sponsored project, Scaling Safety. The report analyzes the city of Austin’s consistent decline in violent crime from 2021 to 2025 and highlights that neighborhoods with Community Violence Intervention Programs experienced a steeper decline in violent crime compared to areas without these programs.
In November 2021, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced a four-point plan to address gun violence in Travis County, including investing in gun violence prevention programs.
1. Hold people who commit acts of gun violence accountable.
2. Invest in gun violence prevention programs
3. Intervene early to prevent family violence homicides
4. Expand services to support victims of gun violence
Updates on that plan and our strategy to prevent and reduce gun violence in our community are available to view and download below.
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About Scaling Safety
Scaling Safety is a five-year, multi-city, resident-powered public safety initiative and joint venture between Just Safe (formerly Alliance for Safety and Justice) and Community-Based Public Safety Collective (CBPSC). The initiative works to build stronger community-based public safety ecosystems by investing in trusted local organizations, strengthening their capacity, and advancing coordinated, data-informed strategies that prevent violence, promote healing, and improve resident wellbeing.
Through approaches such as Safe Passage, High-Risk Intervention, Public Safety Roundtables, victim services and trauma recovery, mental health crisis response, reentry support, and other community violence intervention strategies, Scaling Safety centers residents and survivors while strengthening collaboration among community organizations, local government, and public safety partners. Its overarching goals are to reduce violence by up to 50 percent in targeted communities, double residents’ access to supportive services, and diversify and unlock sustainable public funding for community-based safety solutions. Scaling Safety complements traditional public safety systems by expanding the people, resources, relationships, and infrastructure communities need to prevent harm, respond to crises, support healing, and sustain long-term systems change.