This case study is part of the Reimagining Public Safety Impact Updates Resource, which highlights successful programs in cities, towns and villages across the country. View the Reimagining Public Safety Initiative to learn more about NLC’s work in creating safe, equitable communities for all. This is one of several municipalities illustrating Group Violence Intervention, which engages individuals on an interpersonal level to impede continued group violence – with the goal of reducing gun violence and improving community safety. This Case Study was added in 2025.
Davenport, IA (pop. 101,724) – Group Violence Intervention
Davenport’s Group Violence Intervention (GVI), launched in 2022, is a strategic partnership between the Police Department, community members and social service providers. While community members identified violence as a key issue in 2019, analysis revealed that less than 1 percent of Davenport’s population was committing nearly 56 percent of the violence. To address this concentration of violence in Davenport GVI engages those residents most at risk of participating in future gun violence by offering them resources as an alternate path to violence. GVI has decreased violence in the city.
The three-prong GVI approach pairs credible community members, social service resources and law enforcement together to identify individuals at risk of violence. Designing the intervention prior to launch, the Davenport Police Department explained that GVI “communicates directly with group members conveying a powerful community message about disapproval for violence and in support of community aspirations, concrete opportunities for both immediate and longer-term assistance and support, and clear prior notice of the legal risks associated with continued participation of violence.”
GVI leaders stress – to those most at risk, as well as the larger community – that the goal is to keep people safe, alive and out of prison.
The department has recruited more than 40 Davenport community members as trained GVI team members. The community members contribute to “custom notifications” to intervene with at-risk individuals, mentoring, and ongoing support throughout the community.
In the three years since launch, GVI has conducted 179 custom notifications with 143 adults and 36 juveniles, resulting in 85 families connecting with resources to prevent violence. Juveniles who accepted services participate in Davenport’s Coordinate Assessment Program. Of individuals who have received a custom notification or received connections to social service resources, only 47 (~26%) have re-offended.
While individual-level outcomes have improved through Davenport’s GVI, the community has also seen city-wide reductions in violence. In 2024, Davenport saw a 23.6 percent decrease in shots-fired compared to the previous year and a 66.3 percent reduction over the five-year average (2020-2024). Additionally, the City saw decreases in the number of non-fatal shootings, down 40 percent from 2023 to 2024 and down 48.8 percent compared to the five-year average
Municipal leaders emphasize that community partnerships and relationships are essential to the long-term success of GVI in Davenport. The proactive GVI approach has led to declines in city-wide violence. Leaders see GVI as an ongoing community strategy with no defined end date.
“GVI is a new mindset, a new philosophy… it’s how we want to serve our community going forward.”
– Jeffrey Bladel, Davenport Police Chief
In 2022, GVI had a budget of $750,000 in Davenport. In January 2023, the Davenport GVI program received a $300,000 grant from the Quad Cities Foundation to expand its capacity over three years.
Key performance metrics include:
- Reduction in shootings
- Reduction in homicides
- Number of GVI participants targeted or referred to GVI program
- Number of custom notifications, direct contacts, and collateral contacts with family members
- Percent of participants who accepted services
Acknowledgments for contributions and review from Davenport Police Chief, Jeff Bladel and Davenport Community Schools Communications and Community Relations Director, Sarah Ott.
View the Reimagining Public Safety Impact Update
Learn more about what different cities have done to support public safety, including qualitative and quantitative measures highlighting the impact of community responder models, group violence interventions, hospital-based violence interventions and community violence interventions.