Coalition to Advance Public Safety

Developed in 2022 and officially launched in 2023, the Coalition to Advance Public Safety (CAPS) is a national coalition of four Black-led violence intervention organizations: The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI), the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR), the Community-Based Public Safety Collective (The Collective), and Cities United. The initiative aims to reduce gun homicides and non-fatal shootings by 20 percent in 12 cities over five years by building, strengthening, and expanding Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Ecosystems.

To achieve this goal, CAPS works together with mayors, city officials, law enforcement, community-based organizations, and hospitals to develop and sustain a coordinated, outcomes-driven public safety ecosystem focused on violence reduction. CAPS systematically deploys proven technical assistance and training in cities with high gun violence rates to support scaling effective violence intervention strategies. By working in partnership, CAPS can improve coordination quality and facilitate greater adaptability of local strategies to gun violence trends. The CVI Ecosystem includes a range of strategies to address violence that are complementary to existing law enforcement, social services, and other municipal entities. For more information, visit www.cviecosystem.org.

The four CAPS organizations (referred to as the Core4) bring decades of experience in the field of Community Violence Intervention. As nationally recognized experts, the Core4 served as training and technical assistance providers for the White House Community Violence Intervention Collaborative (CVIC) from 2021-2022. Today, CAPS is supported by the Ballmer Group and the Schusterman Family Philanthropies.