VIOLENCE PREVENTION

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has previously and consistently adopted resolutions recognizing that freedom from violence is fundamental to safe and healthy communities; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that in 2010 an estimated 3.8 million Americans age 12 or older were victims of violence; and

WHEREAS, public health approaches to violence prevention address the conditions that breed violence, and the behaviors and attitudes that perpetuate it; and

WHEREAS, by definition, public health approaches require the organized efforts and informed choices of organizations, public safety and law enforcement, communities and individuals; and

WHEREAS, CeaseFire is a public health approach to violence prevention; and

WHEREAS, a 2008 evaluation conducted by researchers at Northwestern University and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice found that CeaseFire was associated with a distinct and statistically significant reduction of shootings in the Chicago neighborhoods in which it operated; and

WHEREAS, a 2012 Center for Disease Control and Preventionfunded study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the CeaseFire replication site, Safe Streets, was associated with a statistically significant decline in either homicides or nonfatal shootings or both in the Baltimore neighborhoods in which it operated; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice considers the CeaseFire approach a model program for violence prevention,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that by the adoption of this resolution, the United States Conference of Mayors affirms its support for public health approaches to violence prevention as pioneered by the CeaseFire health approach.