Work in Oakland

The City of Oakland officially launched Ceasefire, its primary gun violence reduction strategy, in late 2012. NICJR Executive Director David Muhammad has played a key role in Oakland Ceasefire since its launch, and NICJR has provided technical assistance to the strategy since our founding. Our work has included contributing to the Problem Analysis that informed Oakland Ceasefire’s design, supporting the implementation of the strategy, training Outreach Workers and Life Coaches, and eventually directly managing the community violence intervention portion of the initiative.

NICJR’s 2018 report entitled Oakland’s Successful Gun Violence Reduction Strategy describes the strategy and its success. Partially modeled after the Boston Ceasefire initiative, Oakland Ceasefire was the result of tireless advocacy from community and faith-based organizations. This strategy led to seven consecutive years of declines in shootings and homicides, culminating in a 49% reduction in injury shootings and murders. An external evaluation by Northwestern and Northeastern Universities confirmed that the majority of that decline was attributable to the Ceasefire strategy.

Following the Ceasefire audit, NICJR returned to providing technical assistance and training in Oakland in partnership with the City’s Department of Violence Prevention. The City of Oakland is now a participant in the Coalition to Advance Public Safety (CAPS). Through CAPS, NICJR is working with three other national organizations–Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, the Community Based Public Safety Collective, and Cities United–to expand and strengthen violence reduction work across 12 jurisdictions over the course of five years.

In addition to the work to reduce gun violence, NICJR was contracted by the City of Oakland to co-facilitate the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force. With support from NICJR, the Task Force and more than 100 community members who served on Advisory Boards helped develop 88 recommendations to transform policing and increase investment in community-centered approaches to public safety. NICJR authored a final report detailing these recommendations that was accepted by the City Council in May 2021.

NICJR also launched the Oakland Neighborhood Opportunity and Accountability Board (NOAB) pilot program in May 2020, after a multi-year planning process with the Oakland Police Department and the community. This innovative model diverts youth away from formal justice system involvement at the point of arrest and focuses on restorative, rather than punitive practices; increases community involvement in decision-making; and invests resources in youth, families, and neighborhoods. By piloting and rigorously evaluating this program in Oakland, NICJR seeks to establish a model for other jurisdictions seeking effective alternatives to the traditional juvenile justice system.