Trump Cuts to Violence Prevention Programs Likely to Increase Deaths
Two leading academic experts speaking at the University of Pennsylvania warned that the Trump administration's cancellation of more than $800 million in DOJ grants for community violence prevention programs — affecting over 550 organizations across 48 states — is likely to reverse years of progress on gun violence reduction and lead to a surge in shootings nationwide. The cuts, which targeted evidence-based programs using street outreach, hospital interventions, mentoring, and restorative justice, came despite 46,728 Americans being killed by firearms in 2023 and despite data showing meaningful declines in gun deaths and mass shootings from 2022 through 2024. The experts argued there is no valid rationale for the cuts — not even a financial one, since the programs are cost-effective — and described how the 2022 federal investment had helped scale previously underfunded community experiments into sustainable, professionalized operations with real momentum. One panelist illustrated the stakes with the example of a formerly incarcerated Philadelphia man whose life trajectory was changed through wraparound support including violence recovery specialists, employment connections, and something as concrete as a winter coat, noting that such holistic interventions are precisely what the defunded programs were designed to provide.