Aurora SAVE: A violence reduction strategy driven by community partnerships that focuses on groups and their associates who are at highest risk for violent victimization and offending.

Aurora (Standing Against Violence Every Day) SAVE is a violence reduction strategy that focuses on groups and their associates (primarily ages 13-25) who are at highest risk for violent victimization and offending within the City of Aurora, CO, with the intention to keep group members alive, safe, and free (out of prison). The mission is to reduce the number of group-involved non-fatal and fatal shootings in Aurora as these statistics are both high per capita and increasing over the past years. This focused deterrence approach to violent gun crime reduction relies on supportive partnerships between law enforcement, social services, and community moral voice representation. The partnerships currently in place include city councilmembers, district attorneys, courts, parole and probation, school districts, federal law enforcement agencies, and various city departments such those that focus on human and social services, and local community-based organizations. Aurora SAVE is co-managed by both the Aurora Police Department (APD) and the City of Aurora Youth Violence Prevention Program. The partnership communicates directly with group members by confronting them to convey a powerful community message of disapproval for continued violence and in support of community aspirations; concrete opportunities for both immediate and long-term assistance and support; and clear prior notice of their personal legal jeopardy with continued violence in the Aurora community.

A crucial piece to this CVI strategy is the presence and participation of street outreach/violence interrupters and the program is currently utilizing these services from local non-profit organizations who are providing the services free of charge. The selection of participants: Weekly presentation to law enforcement working group partners of proposed group involved candidates determined through intelligence, criminal history, perpetrated violence and or social network mapping to be at high risk for violence and victimization. Funding will support two contract positions: another crime analyst and an administrative support specialist, funding for the victim services unit, content creation, and funding for street outreach and research via a sub-recipient relationship.