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ABOUT US

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About the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP)

 

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) is located within the Office of the City Administrator and was created in January 2022 to coordinate the Building Blocks DC (BBDC) District-wide public health strategy for gun violence prevention. OGVP ensures that coordination and collaboration occur across DC Government and holds agencies and offices accountable for their gun violence prevention work.

Our Priorities 

  1. Resource Allocation, Policy, and Program Accountability
  2. Collaboration and Coordination
  3. Community Engagement, Partnership, and Communication
  4. Research and Evaluation

Our History 

In February of 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser launched an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to address gun violence in Washington, DC. As an EOC, the focus was on the 151 blocks in DC with the most gun violence (Place-Based) and the people most vulnerable to gun violence near those blocks (Person-Based). Using 2020 crime data, the 151 blocks with the most gun violence represented 2% of all blocks in the city but were the location of 41% of all gun-related crimes. Services and supports from the EOC were two-fold:

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Placed-Based  

Communities are safer when residents have access to clean and vibrant public spaces. Building Blocks DC’s place-based strategy aimed to reduce crime by assessing environmental and infrastructure issues that could pose a public safety threat in a community. The District continues this effort within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice.

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Person-Based  

Building Blocks DC engaged people most at risk of involvement in gun violence and focused initial efforts on working with individuals who:

  • Had been repeatedly arrested for gun-related offenses

  • Were under active supervision by Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) or Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS)

  • Had been the victim of gun violence

  • Had been directly impacted by gun violence

 

The District continues this effort within the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

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