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.