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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\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Santiago Mejia\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
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\u00a027% reduction in\u00a0<\/a>killings<\/a>\u00a0and 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.<\/p>\n Shootings are also down across the country, but Oakland\u2019s reductions are even greater than most cities in America. The decline in gun violence is not an accident.<\/p>\n Oakland\u2019s flagship gun violence reduction strategy, known as\u00a0Ceasefire, 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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\u2019s office. It is the broad partnership that makes it work.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> by Northeastern University found that the majority of these reductions were due to the Ceasefire strategy.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Then the pandemic hit, and the strategy basically came to a halt, and like cities across the country, violence shot up.<\/p>\n