SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott announced on Monday that the city has received a $6 million grant from the state to continue its "Violence Reduction Initiative," which aims to prevent violent crimes before they occur.
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The program, which the state originally funded with $1.5 million when it started in 2020, is part of what the city calls "21st Century Policing."
“We've been doing this program for a couple of years now and we’ve got this grant and it’s been proven successful," Breed told KCBS Radio.
Through support based services, the program's goal is to reduce crimes like shootings and homicides, while building trust between law enforcement and communities.
"Part of what we're doing is saying that, 'we want to work with you because we don't want you to end up back here,'" Breed said. "'We don't want you to keep doing the things that you're doing that could keep end up doing harm to someone else or yourself.'"
The mayor added that the initiative focuses on neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by violent crimes, such as Bayview-Hunter's Point and Potrero Hill.
"We target those people who are most problematic in our criminal justice system in order to get them the support they need to turn their lives around," she explained.
Under the program, all shootings and homicides in San Francisco are reviewed internally every week. The initiative has successfully engaged with over 100 individuals who have been involved or impacted by non-fatal or violent shootings, according to a press release by the mayor's office.
Breed hoped to expand the program to other areas of the city soon.
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