On Monday, the City of Oakland announced that a program to prevent gun violence is getting a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
From 2012 to 2019, Oakland ran a successful gun violence prevention program, called Operation Ceasefire. Its goal was to reduce shootings and recidivism in Oakland, while improving police and community relations. Police and non-law enforcement service providers worked directly with people in Oakland, who were most likely to be involved in shootings or gun violence.
Despite its success, Oakland gradually moved away from the program, and by 2020 it was shuttered. But from 2020 to 2023, gun violence spiked in Oakland. And so, last year, Mayor Sheng Thao brought the program back.
She appointed Holly Joshi — an Oakland native with a background in gender-based violence prevention and law enforcement — as chief of the Department of Violence Prevention, which houses Operation Ceasefire.
Mayor Thao says the reinstated program is working. According to data from the Oakland Police Department, homicides and violent crime are down compared to last year.
In a press conference on Monday, Joshi announced that the $2 million grant from the Department of Justice will be used over the next three years to fund three additional life coaches for the program.
Right now, there are 10 life coaches in the Department of Violence Prevention. Their job is to be in daily contact with people who are most likely to be involved in shootings, either as perpetrators or victims. They say they use a number of strategies to help people escape the cycles of gun-violence, with a particular focus on relationship building.
The three new coaches are expected to start in January.
