Myth: Violence interrupters just “talk to people.”

Fact: Community violence interrupters are skilled professionals who step into high-risk moments to prevent violence.

Thank you to the interrupters doing this life-saving work.

Example: Roca Inc’s intervention model
rocainc.org/how-we-do-it...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Identifying High Risk Populations for a Public Health Approach to Community Violence Intervention. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email ... Join David Muhammad, Mikaela Rabinowitz, and Shantay Jackson from NICJR and Vaughn Crandall from the University of Pennsylvania Crime and Justice Policy Lab, as they present their recently released pr...

Check out this valuable resource from the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform Identifying High-Risk Populations for a Public Health Approach to Community Violence Intervention.

Access the report here: nicjr.org/files/galler...

Join the upcoming webinar: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

First-quarter crime data shows continued drop in violent crime, property crime - Knoxville Police Department Knoxville has continued to see a dramatic decrease in crime through the first quarter of 2026. From January 1 through March 31, 2026, there were no murders in Knoxville, down from four at the same tim...

The VRC congratulates Knoxville on their meaningful progress.

Knoxville’s strategy, led by Mayor Kincannon and carried out by the Office of Community Safety, police, and partners, reflects what works: focused, balanced, fair people-and place-based approaches.

knoxvilletnpolice.gov/2026/04/firs....

Join the UMD Community THRIVES Laboratory Symposium on Family and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention on April 10th.

We’re honored to co-sponsor this important event and contribute to meaningful conversations around prevention and awareness.

Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/family-and...

First-quarter crime data shows continued drop in violent crime, property crime - Knoxville Police Department Knoxville has continued to see a dramatic decrease in crime through the first quarter of 2026. From January 1 through March 31, 2026, there were no murders in Knoxville, down from four at the same tim...

Good news from the City of Knoxville. To quote Mayor Indya Kincannon, "Knoxville crime prevention efforts are paying off."

knoxvilletnpolice.gov/2026/04/firs....

Findings and Recommendations
3. Improving community engagement in violence prevention is an immediate reform opportunity.

Findings and Recommendations
1. Easy access to guns by a small group of “high-risk” people is a key driver of violence.

2. Law enforcement tactics that diminish police-community relations harm public safety.
Social services that can prevent violence are woefully underfunded.

These recommendations offer holistic strategies for addressing gun violence. They signal an opportunity for communities, law enforcement, and government and social service organizations to work together effectively to reduce gun violence.

Developed by the Joyce Foundation, this research report highlights what works in reducing gun violence: centering communities, building trust, and aligning research with real-world practice.

Worth revisiting for anyone committed to community-driven solutions.

www.urban.org/sites/defaul...

How Camden, N.J., Cut Its Murder Rate to a 40-Year Low In their own words, members of the community tell the story of how change came to the city, once among the nation’s deadliest.

Here's a nice NYT piece on Camden, a violence reduction success story. As you can see, it's not one thing, it's many. It's the police, but not just the police, it's the community as well. Success is hard to reduce to a bumper sticker. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

To learn more, get the white paper, and check out a webinar on the same topic, go here: vrc.umd.edu/convenings

If you work in the violence reduction field, you already know how social media can catalyze violence IRL. We need to move beyond mere awareness to developing, implementing, and testing concrete strategies.

Want to know more? Read: "Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence," a paper that describes new strategies, proposes pilot programs, and identifies areas for future research.

vrc.umd.edu/convenings

How social media is fuelling violence in overlooked US communities Thomas Abt, a researcher, says online taunts and barbs from songs can intensify shootings in underserved areas

In the News: VRC Founding Director, @thomasabt.bsky.social speaks to The Guardian about findings from the VRC Symposium on Social Media and Community Violence - including what can be done to identify and address escalating interactions online.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
#gunviolence

Want to know more? Read: "Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence," a paper that describes new strategies, proposes pilot programs, and identifies areas for future research.

vrc.umd.edu/convenings

When engagement fuels harm — Preventing escalation takes alignment among tech platforms, violence interrupters, researchers, law enforcement, and the young people most affected. www.techpolicy.press/social-media...
#socialmedia #communityviolence #gunviolence

Want to know more? Read: "Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence," a paper that describes new strategies, proposes pilot programs, and identifies areas for future research.

vrc.umd.edu/convenings

Smart coordination saves lives — Preventing online violence depends on cross-sector collaboration that prioritizes trust, bringing together tech platforms, violence interrupters, law enforcement, and communities. www.techpolicy.press/social-media...
#socialmedia #communityviolence #gunviolence

Want to know more? Read: "Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence," a paper that describes new strategies, proposes pilot programs, and identifies areas for future research.
vrc.umd.edu/sites/vrc.um...

The time to act is now. Prevention requires coordination and commitment from tech platforms, community violence interrupters, researchers, law enforcement and impacted youth. www.techpolicy.press/social-media...
#communityviolence #socialmedia #gunviolence

Social Media Fuels Community Violence. Prevention Needs an Upgrade. Online conflict accelerates retaliation and compresses the timeline from conflict to crisis, write Thomas Abt, Desmond Patton, and Joseph Richardson.

In high-risk communities, online conflict accelerates offline retaliation, write Thomas Abt, Desmond Patton, and Joseph Richardson. Prevention requires coordination and commitment from tech platforms, community violence interrupters, researchers, law enforcement and impacted youth.

The VRC hosted a Symposium on Social Media and Community Violence. A new paper, “Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence,” shares conclusions & recommendations. The paper & a recording of the release webinar is now available - vrc.umd.edu/convenings #gunviolence

Symposium Explores Social Media's Role in Community Violence - Davis Vanguard The University of Maryland's Violence Reduction Center hosted a symposium to examine the connection between social media and community violence, bringing together researchers, youth voices, law enforc...

The VRC is in the news -- A great feature on our new white paper: Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence. #communityviolence #violence #socialmedia

davisvanguard.org/2026/03/viol...

The VRC published "Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence", a white paper that documents symposium discussions, describes new strategies, proposes pilot programs, and identifies areas for future research. Watch a recording of webinar release: vrc.umd.edu/convenings

The VRC just released a new white paper on social media and community violence and UMD’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences did a nice writeup on it. Our thanks to @progressumd.bsky.social and @everytown.org for supporting this important work.
Read here: bsos.umd.edu/featured-con...

Slowly Adapting to Social Media That Drives Community Violence It’s no secret that conflicts on social media increasingly drive community violence. Today, many if not most rivalries between potentially violent individuals and groups have an online component. C…

Excellent integration of the conclusions and recommendations found in our new white paper Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence. Thanks to Crime and Justice News for the attribution.
Read here: crimjj.wordpress.com/2026/03/06/s...

Thank you to everyone who joined today’s webinar.

A central theme: young people are domain experts in digital spaces. Their insight and partnership are essential to effective online violence prevention.

We’re grateful to our co-sponsors, @everytown.org and @progressumd.bsky.social.

Thanks for participating and for carrying these insights into your professional circle.

Curious about the role social media plays in community gun violence? Read the UMD’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences article highlighting key insights and recommendations from our new white paper: bsos.umd.edu/featured-con...

Join us for our webinar! umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Our white Paper, Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence is now live! vrc.umd.edu/sites/vrc.um...

Join us today for a live webinar about the paper. Register here: umd.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Thank You Symposia Sponsors @everytown.org and @progressumd.bsky.social