City of Pittsburgh STOP the Violence Newsletter

ISSUE #1-October 21 2020

STOP the Violence

News & Updates

Our purpose is to change the community narrative about violence and stop the spread of the disease of violence in the City of Pittsburgh. While we are concerned as well with the surrounding areas and will share solutions and events in those areas, we only have jurisdiction over the City.

Solutions:

GVI (Group Violence Intervention)

Reaching out to the highest risk

GVI is designed to reduce street-group involved violence and homicide. A partnership of law enforcement, community members, and social service providers directly engages the small number of individuals actively involved in violent street groups and delivers a credible moral message against violence, prior notice about the consequences of further violence, and a genuine offer of help for those who want it.

Through GVI, investigators and citizen outreach workers identify individuals who are most likely to commit a violent crime or become a victim of violent crime and hold custom notifications aimed at helping them escape a dangerous lifestyle.

"The concept is: We want you to live, we want you to stay out of prison, we want you to be a productive member of society and we want to help you get there," said Rev. Cornell Jones, who coordinates GVI's outreach teams. "It’s not just law enforcement. This is a whole village mentality, it’s all of us working together."

Individuals who ignore the offers for assistance and persist in violent activity will deal with law enforcement.

The community moral voice is central to the success of GVI. Community members must speak

up privately and publicly to set new standards for acceptable behavior.

Rev. Cornell Jones, GVI Coordinator

If you are upset about community violence, please speak up and join us.

For more information on GVI, to arrange a community presentation, or to partner with GVI in your neighborhood, please contact Rev. Jones at Cornell.Jones@Pittsburghpa.gov or Jay Gilmer, Stop the Violence Coordinator at JayGilmer@Pittsburghpa.org.

If you have information which might prevent violence that you would like to deliver to the GVI team, please call Rev. Jones at: 412-952-5230

Facts & Stats

Below are selected crime statistics from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. These statistics are from the period January 1 to September 30, 2020. These only cover the City, not the areas of Allegheny County which are outside of the City.

A few statistics of note: homicides are up by 22% from 2019 but are still lower than the four year average; non-fatal shootings are up 4% from 2019; Zone 5 leads in homicides and is tied with Zone 1 in non-fatal shootings.

Other: Most non-gun crime categories show a 30% to 40% decrease from 2019.

City of Pittsburgh Police Zones

Coming Events

If you are aware of an anti-violence event that is open to the public, please send us a notice or announcement. Thank you.

To attend the above youth forum, please: Register here

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Tips for you:

1-- Don't leave your car unattended with the keys inside for any amount of time. It is likely that the car will not be there when you return. Unfortunately, this happens multiple times each week. You should also lock your car whenever you're not in it.

2-- "Dirt bikes" and all-terrain vehicles (ATV's or "4-wheelers") are not legal for street use in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and they are quite unsafe.

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The Stop the Violence Newsletter is produced monthly by the STOP the Violence Office of the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. Please send any Ideas or suggestions to Jay Gilmer.