Ceasefire is credited with helping cut gun violence in Oakland. The program is a partnership between the Department of Violence Prevention, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, the police department, the Alameda County Probation Department and the mayor’s office.Â
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Oakland has achieved two consecutive years of steep declines in gun violence. After finishing 2024 with a 34% reduction in killings and a 32% reduction in nonfatal, injury shootings, Oakland again had a drop in gun violence in 2025, with a 27% reduction in killings and 25% reduction in non-fatal shootings. According to Oakland Police Department data, the city ended 2023 with 118 killings and two years later finished with 57, still too many, but a remarkable 52% decline over two years.
Shootings are also down across the country, but Oakland’s reductions are even greater than most cities in America. The decline in gun violence is not an accident.
Oakland’s flagship gun violence reduction strategy, known as Ceasefire, is a data-driven initiative where individuals at high risk of being involved in gun violence are identified and informed of their risk in a public health approach. They are offered intensive community services, and those who continue to engage in gun violence are prioritized for law enforcement action.
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Ceasefire is a partnership between the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention, community-based organizations funded by it, faith-based organizations, the Oakland Police Department, the Alameda County Probation Department and the mayor’s office. It is the broad partnership that makes it work.
After the initial implementation of Ceasefire at the end of 2012, gun violence plummeted in Oakland for eight straight years, culminating in shootings and homicides being cut in half. An external academic evaluation by Northeastern University found that the majority of these reductions were due to the Ceasefire strategy.
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Then the pandemic hit, and the strategy basically came to a halt, and like cities across the country, violence shot up.
In 2023, on behalf of Oakland, my organization, the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, conducted a detailed audit of the Ceasefire initiative, along with the California Partnership for Safe Communities. Our two organizations have provided technical assistance and training to the Ceasefire partners for many years. The audit found that the core elements of the strategy had been significantly weakened.Â
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When COVID struck, community violence intervention workers had to suspend their intensive in-person engagement with high-risk individuals. And it took too long to bring them back. Police officers also reduced their enforcement efforts due to the high rates of catching the virus and in response to local and national protests after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, killings increased by 26% from the previous year and then climbed 17% the next year when they reached a high of 123 in 2021. There was a similar increase in non-fatal shootings.Â
Following the audit, the city recommitted to Ceasefire, and all of the partners worked hard together to reestablish and strengthen the initiative. And it worked.Â
When a shooting occurs, staff members at the Department of Violence Prevention or its partners respond to the scene, connect with family and friends of the victims and gather information to thwart potential retaliation. When more information is known about the victim and suspect, people in their networks who may be a part of a retaliatory cycle are intensively engaged by a Department of Violence Prevention life coach. The experienced team of coaches, who are personal examples of transformation, play the role of mentor and case manager. They also enroll the participants in weekly cognitive behavioral intervention groups and connect them with needed services like housing and employment.
Oakland voters are also to be credited with passing Measure NN in November 2024, which continued funding for the community services connected to Ceasefire and for hiring more police officers. Â
The police department has a dedicated Ceasefire unit that focuses exclusively on gun violence. The department also holds weekly shooting reviews to identify incidents that have a likelihood of retaliation and prioritizes enforcement on those who are driving gun violence.
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The Alameda County Probation Department increases supervision, when needed, on the small number of people identified as being at high risk of being involved in gun violence, and it also coordinates intervention efforts within the county jail.
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Faith-based organizations conduct weekly community walks, support families of the participants and advocate for continued support of the Ceasefire initiative.
No one organization, no one person and no one program can take credit for the drop in gun violence in Oakland. But this partnership of city and county agencies, nonprofit organizations and faith leaders, all working in a coordinated strategy, has made a significant impact that has resulted in far fewer people being shot and killed. While one killing is too many, we must also celebrate the progress that has been made.
David Muhammad is the executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, which provides technical assistance to Oakland’s Ceasefire initiative.