OAKLAND DEPARTMENT OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION
In 2017, the Council received a contract from the City of Oakland to research and highlight the voices and lived experiences of Oakland’s residents most impacted by community violence. The findings of our research “Rethinking Violence Prevention in Oakland” were presented at the Oakland’s city-wide Safe Oakland Summit in the summer of 2019.
At this event, over 200 attendees including service providers, systems leaders, and victims of violence were brought together to inform the creation of Oakland's new Department of Violence Prevention (centered on the belief that those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions).
Informed by the advocacy of Oakland victims and grassroots leaders, the Oakland DVP was mandated to implement a public health approach capable of significantly reducing the rates of gun-related homicides, domestic violence, and commercial/sexual exploitation of children.
The Council’s research demonstrated the far-reaching effects of violence in Oakland and the importance of this department’s mandate.
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55% of participants experienced police misconduct.
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57% of participants experienced domestic violence.
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45% of participants experienced commercial sexual exploitation of children.
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21% experienced all three types of violence.
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55% did not report incidents of violence
