Aurora will implement a new approach to reducing youth violence, a program that uses what the city called a “proven model” that has helped other cities reduce violence. 

The program, Standing Against Violence Every Day (SAVE), focuses on addressing youth violence deterrence through collaboration between the Aurora Police Department, Youth Violence Prevention Program, community partners and Aurora leaders. 

The model brings community members and law enforcement into direct collaboration with key leaders of active, violent street groups. 

SAVE is modeled after the Group Violence Intervention strategy, which replaces enforcement with deterrence to reduce homicide and gun violence and minimize harm to communities.

Identified groups typically account for half of all serious violent incidents, according to a report by the National Network for Safe Communities. 

In early August, Aurora conducted three days of internal trainings, providing collaborators in the effort with information on Group Violence Intervention strategy and a platform for partners to identify violence dynamics in Aurora. 

“Much work remains, but this is a successful route to reducing crime, strengthening our neighborhoods, narrowing the net of law enforcement and keeping our most vulnerable alive and out of prison,” Aurora City Councilmember Ruben Medina said. 

A governing board was established for the approach and includes Medina, Councilmember Angela Lawson and leaders and representatives from organizations including Cherry Creek School District, Aurora Mental Health Center, Adams County Public Health and the FBI.

SAVE was established through Aurora’s Public Safety Partnership, part of the Department of Justice, after being selected as one of ten sites to participate in the partnership in 2021. 

Aurora is the first city in Colorado to implement the Group Violence strategy, but not the first in the country. 

The National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice works with communities to implement the new strategy and have done so in more than 60 cities, including Chicago, Miami and Philadelphia. 

Through the Public Safety Partnership, the city analyzed crime data in the past year in which the known offender was between ages 14 and 25 to assess the progress of SAVE so far. 

In the past year, there were 29 total known youth offenders. In the first six months, there were 20 and in the most recent six months, there were nine. This is a 61% reduction. 

There were 90 youth victims of gun crime over the past year, with 56 in the first six months and 34 in the most recent six months. This correlates to a 48% reduction in victimization.

“While progress is being made, there is more work to be done to reduce youth violence in our city and community,” the city’s website says. 

The community can stay updated on SAVE through the city website at AuroraGov.org/SAVE.