Operation Ceasefire

[2] Operation Ceasefire entailed a problem-oriented policing approach, and focused on specific places that were crime hot spots.

It led to what is now known as the Group Violence Intervention (GVI), typically overseen by the National Network for Safe Communities, out of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, but has also been implemented independently by several jurisdictions.

Operation Ceasefire was based on "pulling levers policing" deterrence strategies, which focus criminal justice enforcement on a small number of chronic offenders and gang-involved youth who were responsible for much of Boston's homicide problem.

[5] Early impact evaluations suggested that the Ceasefire intervention was associated with significant reductions in youth homicide victimization,[6] shots fired, calls for service, and gun assaults in Boston.

The Group Violence Intervention (GVI) has been deployed in dozens of cities – from Los Angeles to Providence, from Chicago to Nashville – over almost 20 years.

A 2011 Campbell Collaboration Systematic Review of the strategies, and others related to them, concluded that there is now "strong empirical evidence" for their crime prevention effectiveness.

The Emmy nominated documentary Operation Ceasefire gives an inside look at the creation and implementation of the program through the testimonies of its key figures.