Mayor announces opening of new round of applications to expand reach of successful ShotStoppers program

City will launch new application period on Monday seeking two more community groups to serve as ShotStoppers in the City’s community violence intervention (CVI) program
Applications for new ShotStoppers groups will be due in early August, with contracts expected to begin by October 1
Pending Senate approval this fall, money appropriated through new Public Safety Trust Fund would support CVI expansion and long-term sustainability
ShotStoppers groups achieved 30% to 70% declines in homicides and shootings in late 2023 and early 2024

Mayor Mike Duggan announced plans to expand the City’s ShotStoppers community violence intervention (CVI) program and seek applications for two additional community groups to serve as ShotStoppers.

The City is expanding ShotStoppers based on highly promising results in the program’s first year. ShotStoppers groups achieved reductions in violence of 30 to 70% during late 2023 and early 2024, achieving significantly greater reductions in violence in chronic hotspots than the overall trend in areas of the City not served by CVI. Based on these results, several CVI groups have earned performance bonuses totaling $175,000 to $350,000 so far.

To begin the process, the City will begin soliciting proposals from interested community organizations on Monday, with applications due in early August. Organizations interested in applying will be able to find application details on the City’s website. Contracts for two new CVI community groups are expected to begin October 1, with each group having one month to ramp up before performance measurement begins on November 1.

“We launched ShotStoppers a year ago as an experiment and now we have enough data to show its effectiveness and to justify expanding it,” said Mayor Duggan. “One year in, the program has exceeded all expectations, not only achieving major declines in violence but showing that personal engagement with individuals involved in violence can change their decisions and lives.”

Shotspotter update pic1 — Mayor Mike Duggan announces plans to expand the successful Community Violence Intervention program, also known as ShotStoppers. The city will issue a request for proposals from community organizations on Monday, July 1.

Joining the Mayor at the announcement were several state legislators who were key to Thursday’s early morning passage of the $75 million Public Safety Trust Fund in the FY25 budget, spearheaded by Speaker Joe Tate, Representative Alabas Farhat, Representative Nate Shannon, and Representative Angela Witwer. House approval of the Trust Fund played a key role in the City’s decision to expand ShotStoppers.

While the Trust Fund still requires approval from the Michigan Senate before it can launch, the City is taking steps to be ready on October 1 to put the potential new funding to use for first-class policing and first-class CVI.

“Launching a new round of ShotStoppers applications now would allow the City to use Trust Fund dollars to start making a difference on Day One,” said Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison. “I am so grateful that Governor Whitmer and visionary leaders in the legislature established the Public Safety Trust Fund to ensure that effective CVI strategies can continue reducing violence here in Detroit.”

In addition to accepting new applications, the City will continue funding for five of the original ShotStoppers groups for another year, through summer of 2025. City Council approved year-long contract extensions for four groups, and the Administration will put forward an extension for the fifth group, Detroit 300, shortly.

Shotspotter update pic2 — State Rep. Angela Witwer discusses efforts to pass the Public Safety Trust Fund legislation which, pending Senate approval, would fund the ShotStoppers program after the current American Rescue Plan Act dollars expire. Also pictured are State Rep. Stephanie Young and House Speaker Joe Tate.

Shotspotter update pic3 — State Rep. Albas Farhat sponsored the Public Safety Trust Fund legislation that recently was approved by the House of Representatives. The Senate will consider the bill in the fall.

How ShotStoppers Works

ShotStoppers launched in July 2023, made possible with $10 million from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The new expansion is also supported by an additional $1 million in ARPA funds.

Through ShotStoppers, community groups define and implement their own violence reduction strategy in a specific geographic area called a CVI Zone. While groups have flexibility to define their own strategy, many groups focus on engaging individuals at greatest risk of involvement in violence and helping them pursue a new path.

The City will launch a new round of competitive applications, in search of two additional community groups to serve as ShotStoppers. Similar to the first-round application process, community groups will be able to pitch their own CVI Zone and their own strategy for preventing and reducing violence. The City is seeking ShotStoppers in hotspot areas that see the most homicides and shootings.

Each ShotStoppers group receives a base budget of $175,000 per quarter and can earn up to $175,000 more in performance grants each quarter. Performance is measured by comparing the “CVI Score” – or homicides multiplied by two plus non-fatal shootings – in each group’s Zone to the same quarter during the prior year. To earn a performance grant, a group must reduce violence by a significantly larger amount than the trend in parts of the City not served by CVI. Performance grants range from $87,500 to $175,000 each quarter based on the level of violence reduction.