The symposium, led by the National Network for Safe Communities, brought together over 75 city, county, state, federal and community leaders

On Monday Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4) gathered elected and appointed leaders, law enforcement, City of Seattle Departments, and community groups to learn more about an approach to reducing gun violence that has seen significant success in other cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston. The symposium was facilitated by The National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), a nationally recognized research center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“I ran for office because too many children in Seattle have lost their lives or have been deeply impacted by gun violence across our city,” said Councilmember Rivera. “I’ve witnessed the direct impact at my own children’s schools, where a child was shot and killed. Since then, public safety has been my number one priority as a councilmember. And while I know the city has invested in important prevention and intervention efforts to reduce gun violence in Seattle, we need to look at additional strategies. Our approaches, as a city, should be done in partnership, and not siloed.

“That is why I hosted this symposium, led by national experts in reducing gun violence, so that city leaders, law enforcement, and community groups could all be in the same room, having the same conversation,” noted Councilmember Rivera.

The NNSC works with cities to use a focused deterrence approach to address the small number of people who are causing most of the serious violence. By forming partnerships between community members, social service providers and law enforcement, the NNSC has helped cities decrease violence. “The violence prevention symposium is an important step in the work of the Council and City Hall more broadly to bring key stakeholders and perspectives together in the fight against gun violence. We need to bring forward approaches that can bring progress, but also importantly, efforts to implement change to accomplish results,” said Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7) who chairs the Public Safety Committee.   

“We are seeing too much gun violence in our neighborhoods, and the stakes are too high for our kids. Instead of just getting into fistfights, our babies are shooting at each other. We need to do everything we can to support them – from providing basic needs, to offering opportunities for positive engagement,” said Council President Joy Hollingsworth (District 3). “And we need to explore approaches that will have a significant impact on gun violence across our city. I appreciate Councilmember Rivera’s work to get us all in the same room, talking about this critically important issue.”

Topics presented during the symposium included “Violence in Seattle: Understanding the Current Landscape,” “The Three-Legged Stool: Community Moral Voice, Outreach and Support, and Strategic Enforcement” and “Next Steps for Seattle: Building a Sustainable Violence Prevention Strategy.” Using this approach, Philadelphia has seen a 40% reduction in gun violence. In addition to representatives from the NNSC, there were also staff from the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore and South Bend, Indiana, who spoke about the positive results of focused deterrence in their cities. 

“With this symposium, I hope we can have honest conversations, be open to learning, and be curious about what has worked in other communities, and what we can add here in Seattle. That is how we will best serve our city and get results. As I always say, when we work together, we get better outcomes. I know all my Council colleagues are concerned about gun violence in their districts and across the city. I want to thank, in particular, Council President Joy Hollingsworth and Public Safety Chair Bob Kettle for their support of this symposium. I also want to thank the Mayor’s Office for their collaboration,” added Councilmember Rivera. 

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