Save Lives Now! (SLN) is a regional St. Louis initiative designed to rapidly reduce violent street crime by 20% over three years starting in 2025.
SLN coordinates proven anti-violence tactics, technical assistance, and crime data across law enforcement and governmental jurisdictions, neighborhoods, service providers and local residents. Though regional in scope, SLN focuses resources in areas in St. Louis city and county and St. Clair County identified to have high incidents of violent crime.
Intensive Coordination and Focus
SLN is highly coordinated to ensure police, prosecutors, courts, communities, service providers, other stakeholders, and residents are aligned with information, expertise, technical support, data collection, and funding.
SLN focuses violence reduction tactics on the very small number of people in the St. Louis region causing a large portion of the region’s devastating street violence, including shootings and homicides. Data finds that just %.16 of the population causes approximately 30% of the violent crime in the region. Police, neighborhoods, and multiple partners collaborate to identify individuals and groups of individuals most at risk for causing or being caught up in street violence.
Three Proven Tactics to Reduce Street Violence
SLN utilizes three evidence-based anti-violence strategies that have been highly successful in other urban areas around the country. Research finds these tactics significantly reduce street violence in a short period of time when done with fidelity.
Focused Deterrence
A nationally recognized model of police work that has successfully reduced violence and homicides in Chicago (37%), Philadelphia (35%), Indianapolis (34%), Boston (31%), and Kansas City (21%). Focused deterrence leverages data to focus law enforcement and community resources on a set of individuals who are at the highest risk for perpetuating violence or becoming victims of violent crime. Police and other supports continually reach out to these individuals through either meetings or a trusted messengers to deliver two critical messages:
Message 1: We know who you are, what you are doing, and, if violence continues, we will stop you. Consequences are communicated, including arrest, prosecution and incarceration, as well as clear facts about the lifelong impact of continued violence and incarceration on the individual and the devastating collateral damage to loved ones.
Message 2: If you commit to stopping, we will connect you with supports, services, and treatment to help you exit the cycle of crime.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT) practitioners engage individuals who want out of the cycle of violence to help them strengthen their decision-making processes. CBT provides them with behavioral strategies to de-escalate emotions and make executive decisions that do not result in violence. This strategy interrupts cycles of violence primarily by changing how individuals react to stressful, sometimes traumatic situations. Other supports are also wrapped around CBT, including drug counseling, education services, housing services, and job training. Research on CBT suggests the tactic significantly reduces violent crime and recidivism among high risk individuals, particularly in reducing retaliatory violence. One review of 58 different CBT programs nationwide, found that the programs reduced recidivism by a quarter.
Street Outreach
Professionals work in specific neighborhoods to engage and support individuals and groups at high risk for violence. They are considered “trusted messengers” within the communities, and use this earned trust to mediate and resolve conflicts so they do not result in violence. They further act as a pipeline to services for at-risk individuals to more easily access CBT and other services. Other duties include being active and present in assigned neighborhoods; supporting victims and their families; mentoring victims who may be likely to commit future violence; and reclaiming public spaces for healthy and safe community activities.
Coordination Is Essential
SLN succeeds when police, courts, service providers, neighborhoods, residents, and governments are informed, empowered with data, trained, and aligned so they understand and utilize the three strategies in a coordinated manner. Communication and standard implementation across jurisdictions is essential. Alignment among law enforcement, support services, community members, and governments is best achieved through two new structures:
A Save Lives Now! Advisory Council
Meets quarterly to report out data, progress, milestones, and other information, engage with public and partners, and make adjustments as needed. The advisory council includes government, law enforcement, area stakeholders, and neighborhood representation. See the current roster of members here. The first meeting of the Advisory Council was May 23, 2024. The next meeting is scheduled for October 10, 2024.
A Save Lives Now! Anti-Violence Hub
Consists of a director and staff will provide assistance and coordination to both the Save Lives Now! Advisory Council and to members of the implementation team, which includes leaders in law enforcement, support services and street outreach. The Hub will collect and monitor data, organize technical assistance and training, provide communication, and facilitate alignment and information sharing among stakeholders. As part of the regional approach, the hub will operate out of East-West Gateway Coordinating Council of Governments.
Resources
-
-
- Read: Save Lives Now! Executive Summary
- Read: Anti-violence planning document approved by the EWG board of directors, February, 2024
- See the Dec. 2023 Crime Summit PowerPoint
-
-
- Read: The nationally recognized book, Bleeding Out, by Thomas Abt, director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland, and the lead advisor to Save Lives Now!
- Watch: Why violence clusters in cities and how to reduce it, a TEDX Talk by Thomas Abt.
Headlines
-
-
- A look at the new St. Louis program to curb violent crime
- St. Louis-area leaders to give update on plan to curb violent crime
- United Way official gets new job heading St. Louis area anti-homicide effort
- Local leaders attend first meeting of Save Lives Now! Advisory Council, KMOV St. Louis
- Save Lives Now! anti-violence effort for St. Louis region hopes to hire director soon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Plan to cut homicides, non-fatal shootings in St. Louis region may not be fully underway until 2025
- Here’s how the first regional initiative in the St. Louis area aims to reduce shootings, homicides by 20% in three years, KSDK
- Opinion: St. Louis city and county are collaborating against crime, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 25, 2024
- Opinion: Anti-crime initiative uses proven tactics to save lives, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 7, 2024
- Program to curb murders in St. Louis aims to start this fall, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February, 22, 2024
- A new answer to violence in St. Louis: “focused deterrence”, St. Louis Magazine, Dec. 12, 2023
- Officials pitch plan to curb murders in St. Louis region. Business groups say they’ll back it, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dec. 11, 2023
- St. Louis area homicide victims and suspects are 31 years old, on average, study finds, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 5, 2023
- St. Louis area officials set to discuss violent crime reduction next week, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 1, 2023
- After crime summit, St. Louis leaders eye collaboration with national expert on crime plan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 18, 2023
- Business leaders zero in on St. Louis murder rate. ‘Top priority.”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 12, 2023
- Regional board plans area-wide ‘crime summit’ in spring, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 25, 2023
-
Timeline
History
EWG organized a one-day Crime Summit at the request of the mayor of St. Louis City, local business leaders, and other regional leaders to respond to the region’s high rate of homicides and gun violence, particularly in the city, parts of St. Louis County, and East St. Louis. Participants agree that a regional approach to reducing violent street crime is important for the health and future prosperity of the entire St. Louis region, and a critical issue to address if the region wants to grow and attract future investment and greater population growth.
A five-day practicum is convened by EWG to develop a regional anti-violence strategy. The summit, led by criminologists and expert practitioners in the fields of crime reduction, is attended by leaders in government, law enforcement, business, health, and civic initiatives and included a deep dive on crime factors and data in the region; best practices in criminology and street violence reduction; dialogue; consensus building; and more. At the conclusion, the group agrees that the regional approach to reducing street violence should include a balance of coordinated, research-based tactics that includes focused deterrence, cognitive behavioral therapy and other supports, and street outreach.
EWG’s Board of Directors approves the Save Lives Now! plan, which includes the convening of a Save Lives Now! Advisory Council, and creation of an EWG anti-violence hub to coordinate the initiative across police and law enforcement jurisdictions, service providers, neighborhoods, governments, communities, and others.
The first meeting of the Save Lives Now! Advisory Council was held on May 23, 2024. See the agenda here. See the presentation here.
The initiative builds capacity. Brandon Sterling is hired by East-West Gateway Council of Governments to serve as the director of Save Lives Now! Technical assistance providers are hired to help with system-building, coordination, and regional training. Fundraising work begins.
The meeting is scheduled for October 10 at 10 a.m. at St. Louis Artworks, 5959 Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis, 63112. The meeting is open to the public. Please email savelivesnow@ewgateway.org if you plan to attend.