I lost my son and 13 of my friends to gang violence. I know how to stop it.

I lived with violence at an early age. A former Grape Street Crip, I lost 13 friends to Los Angeles’ gang war in 1989 alone. Three years later, I went from witness to mediator, helping broker a historic peace treaty between the Crips and Bloods in my Watts neighborhood. 

I knew the killing wouldn’t stop unless we stopped it. And we did. By working toward resolution instead of escalation, we brought gang-related homicides down significantly.

Those closest to violence are best able to prevent it – something I experienced again when my own son was tragically killed in 2004. I was the only one who could stop his friends from avenging Terrell’s death. Instead of more trauma and killing, I could let healing be his legacy. Death also touched people Terrell had known, including junior high classmate Nipsey Hussle who went on to be a successful rap artist before he was fatally shot in 2019.

I’ve dedicated my life to helping communities end epidemics of violence and create lasting safety. That’s how I know that what we’re seeing right now in America is remarkable – the community-based violence interventions we used back in Watts are working on a massive scale.

New data from police chiefs with the Major Cities Chiefs Association found that homicide rates declined sharply in major U.S. cities in the first nine months of 2025. This follows declines in every category of crime in 2024, according to the FBI, including a 14.9% decrease in murders and nonnegligent manslaughters.

In line with other recent reports, new data from 67 law enforcement agencies revealed that homicides have fallen by double digits across the board – a roughly 20% decrease, and up to 40% in some communities. 

The statistics are astounding. In Chicago, the homicide rate for the first half of 2025 was 33% lower than during the same period the year before. In Baltimore, the city saw a 24% drop; in St. Louis, 22%. 

Crime is falling, but federal government threatens our progress

What’s behind this massive shift?

It’s not the “tough on crime” policies of the past that proffer more incarceration, bigger police budgets and harsher penalties as the solution to public safety. And it’s not the presence of National Guard troops, who have been sent – at great taxpayer expense – to several cities whose homicide rates had already been dropping.

While we’re certainly seeing a reversal of the crime surge that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s more at play here. Many experts agree that crime is falling because cities have invested in what works: community-based safety solutions, ones that are driven by those most impacted by crime and can effectively prevent violence before it happens. 

But now, just as these proven strategies are delivering widespread results, the rug is being pulled out from under us. The federal government has cut a staggering $800 million in public safety funds, threatening the very programs helping cities curb crime and support victims.

The consequences of this backward funding decision are life and death. It’s not too late for leaders who care about public safety to recommit to continuing America’s upward trend on preventing crime.

Across the country, we’re seeing what’s possible when cities put real resources into community anti-violence programs. It’s what we did in Newark, New Jersey, where I led the Newark Community Street Team starting in 2014. Crime recently hit a 72-year low in the city, and Newark has become a national model for rethinking public safety solutions.

Solutions like violence interrupters who mediate conflicts. Trauma-recovery services that help crime survivors heal. Reentry supports that allow people to get jobs and rebuild their lives. Addiction programs that prevent crises from becoming crime.

By focusing on prevention, healing and opportunity, community-based programs are reducing violence where other strategies have failed. 

Street interventionists prevent crime before it starts. Without them, we risk more violence.

We’ve seen this at work through Scaling Safety, a joint initiative between the Community Based Public Safety Collective and the Alliance for Safety and Justice, which empowers community leaders with more violence-prevention resources. Leaders like Lyle Muhammad at Miami's Circle of Brotherhood, which deploys dedicated street interventionists known as Peacemakers to help interrupt crime before it starts.

Our research found that investing in programs like Lyle’s saves lives. Over four years, the two most violent Miami communities saw homicide rates decline by 83% and 60% respectively. These incredible drops were statistically correlated with the presence of violence prevention organizations, working in tandem with targeted policing solutions.

Cutting funds to these programs makes us all less safe. Without violence interrupters visiting crime scenes to stop retaliation and connect survivors with services, there’s a greater risk of more bloodshed. Without programs that offer second-chance pathways for people with records, healing never happens and recidivism increases. Deadly cycles continue.

Community safety programs have been victims of their own success. With crime falling and neighborhoods feeling safer, voters’ concerns are rightly focused on cost of living – causing public safety to fall off the political radar. Instead of backtracking, this is the moment to double down on effective crime-reduction programs so we can keep riding a wave of progress.

We know how to prevent violence before it starts. Now it’s our duty to act accordingly. If our leaders truly want to create lasting safety, they must protect, not dismantle, the community-based solutions that are proven to keep us all safer.

Aqeela Sherrills is nationally recognized for his three decades of leadership in building community solutions to urban violence. He is colead of Scaling Safety, founder and executive director of Community Based Public Safety Collective and board secretary of Just Safe.