Sacramento Receives $5M State Grant To Expand Violence Prevention Programs

The City of Sacramento has received a $5 million state grant to expand violence prevention and intervention programs in neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

The funding comes through the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) program, administered by the California Board of State and Community Corrections. The program supports community-based strategies designed to interrupt cycles of violence and reduce shootings across California.

Sacramento was one of four large cities selected for the maximum award in the latest funding cycle. The funds will support programs coordinated by the Sacramento Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), which operates within the Sacramento Police Department.

Dr. Nicole Clavo, who directs the office, said in an email that the OVP’s mission differs from traditional law enforcement by focusing on preventing violence before it occurs.

The office works alongside community-based organizations, schools, hospitals, and residents to identify individuals most at risk of violence. Programs include rapid response after shootings, outreach from credible community messengers, youth-focused mentorship and case management, and trauma-informed support for victims and families.

Clavo said the $5 million grant will fund a multiyear expansion of Sacramento’s violence intervention infrastructure. That includes strengthening 24-hour rapid incident response, street outreach, youth-focused case management and mentorship, and victim services and program evaluation.

“These approaches are supported by research and by lessons learned from previous grant cycles,” Clavo said. “Our goal is to assess whether these combined strategies are contributing to safer conditions in neighborhoods most impacted by violence.”

City officials said the grant builds on a strategy developed during a surge in violence that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between 2019 and 2023, reporting by The OBSERVER found there were 381 gun-related homicides in Sacramento County, of which 197 victims, or 52%, were Blacks, who comprise about 12% of the county population.

Speaking Feb. 24 at a City Council meeting, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester described how national and local trends prompted the city to rethink its approach.

“In 2022, our city, like much of the country, was still feeling the profound impacts of the pandemic and the sustained civil unrest that followed after the murder of George Floyd,” Lester said.

Sacramento experienced a sharp increase in shootings during that period. The city recorded 58 homicides in 2021 — about 70% higher than in 2019.

The urgency intensified after a mass shooting in April 2022 near 10th and K streets downtown, the deadliest in the city’s history.

“That was a tragic moment that underscored the urgency of a different approach,” Lester said.

City leaders implemented a strategy based on “focused deterrence,” an evidence-based approach that targets individuals most likely to be involved in violence while offering support services and clear consequences for continued criminal activity.

“It combines clear communication that continued violence will result in accountability with access to services and support for those willing to change,” Lester said.

The approach focuses on identifying who is driving violence, where it is occurring, and why it is happening. Police data showed that a significant portion of gun violence was concentrated in just seven square miles of the city. These neighborhoods include Del Paso Heights, Oak Park, and the Meadowview-Valley Hi area. In 2021, roughly 45% of reported gun crimes occurred within these areas, Lester said.

Targeted enforcement, prevention programs, and community partnerships have contributed to measurable improvements in recent years. According to SacPD, shooting reports fell from 725 incidents in 2022 to 476 in 2025. The number of gun violence victims dropped from 175 in 2022 to 131 last year. Compared with the peak in 2021, the city has seen nearly a 50% reduction in shooting victims and a 40% decrease in shooting incidents.

Lester credited these gains to a combination of intelligence-led policing, technology, and strong community engagement.

“We focused our resources where violence was highest, used data-driven policing to identify the people and places driving crime, and leveraged technology to multiply our impact,” Lester said. “Despite staffing challenges, we partnered with community organizations and regional agencies to align enforcement with prevention. The result has been measurable, sustained progress and safer neighborhoods across our city.”

The department has also seized more than 4,000 firearms over the past four years, including more than 800 “ghost guns,” privately manufactured weapons without serial numbers. Sacramento has expanded its use of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, linking firearms to multiple crimes to generate actionable intelligence more quickly.

In addition to enforcement, the city has strengthened crime analysis, grants management, and technology capabilities. Through participation in the National Public Safety Partnership, Sacramento received technical assistance and training designed to help cities reduce violent crime through data-driven strategies and cross-agency collaboration.

“It helped transform our strategy from good ideas into a disciplined and sustainable practice,” Lester said. The program strengthened the city’s crime analysis unit, reorganized investigative resources, and expanded partnerships with community organizations.

The new CalVIP grant will sustain and expand community-based intervention programs, particularly those focused on individuals at highest risk of involvement in violence.

Outside experts emphasize the importance of community organizations in these programs. Mike McLively, police director at the Giffords Center for Violence Prevention, said CalVIP-funded programs aim to reach individuals most likely to be involved in shootings.

“We define it [violence intervention] as nonpunitive violence reduction that focuses on identifying and providing services to the people most at risk of being involved with violence,” McLively said.

Those individuals typically are young adults, men particularly, facing multiple risk factors and may be difficult to reach through traditional systems.

Evaluation is a critical part of the programs, he said.

“I want to see whether programs are measuring the risk factors of the people they’re working with,” McLively said. “What does that look like six months in, nine months in, 12 months in? Can you show that the risk is being reduced?”

Ultimately, he said, the broader measure of success is whether shootings and victimizations decline in the communities where programs operate.

McLively noted that many advocates prefer CalVIP funds to flow directly to community organizations rather than through police departments, though the structure varies by city.

“The relationship between police and community is sometimes strained, and that can create confusion about whether outreach workers are connected to law enforcement,” he said.

Still, he emphasized that the goal is for programs to succeed regardless of the funding pathway.

The Sacramento grant will be distributed over three years and is part of a statewide pool funded in part through a tax created by state legislation on firearms and ammunition. McLively said that provides a stable baseline for violence intervention work, though advocates continue to push for additional funding.

Clavo said Sacramento will track the grant’s impact through required reporting, independent evaluation, and public updates.

“Transparency and accountability are central to this work,” she said. “While no single grant can solve complex public safety challenges on its own, this investment allows Sacramento to continue building a coordinated prevention framework designed to produce measurable and sustainable progress.”

Lester added that technology and data-driven strategies will continue to underpin the city’s approach. The department has implemented real-time crime dashboards, expanded camera networks, and integrated investigative databases to give officers and investigators immediate access to actionable information.

“These tools, combined with partnerships with community organizations, allow us to respond faster, investigate more effectively, and prevent violence before it escalates,” Lester said.

The new funding provides an opportunity to build on Sacramento’s progress and continue refining strategies to reduce shootings, support victims, and engage high-risk individuals with services that can change the trajectory of their lives.

“The ultimate goal is safer neighborhoods, and that requires coordinated effort, sustained funding, and community trust,” Clavo said. “This grant is a critical step toward making that vision a reality.”