AUSTIN, TX — Violent crime declined across Austin between 2021 and 2025, with significantly steeper reductions in neighborhoods served by community violence intervention programs, according to a new analysis of Austin Police Department data.

The findings come as the Austin City Council considers budget decisions that could determine the future of programs associated with those public safety gains. With federal and local funding set to expire, and with a city deficit of almost $17 million the proposed budget doesn’t continue funding for Harvest Trauma Recovery Center and makes the deficit by cutting social services contracts for violence prevention.

$17 million for violence prevention and victim services is at risk, funding for the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center.

The report, How Austin Became Safer: Community Partnerships and the Decline in Violent Crime, was released by Scaling Safety, a joint initiative of Just Safe and The Community-Based Public Safety  Collective, in partnership with Austin Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention.

Researchers found:

• Violent crime declined citywide between 2021 and 2025, with no evidence that violence was displaced into neighboring communities.
• Census block groups served by community violence intervention organizations experienced statistically steeper declines in homicide and aggravated assault than areas without program coverage.
• Among the neighborhoods with the steepest declines in violent crime, 97% had community violence intervention programs and 93% were within three miles of a participating organization.
• Austin residents strongly support community-based approaches to public safety, even as many crime victims—particularly in neighborhoods experiencing the most violence—remain disconnected from needed services.

Community violence organizations mentioned in the report include: ATX Peace, the city’s first CVI program, whose work spans the time period examined in the report, along with Hungry Hill Foundation, Tomorrow’s Promise Foundation, and the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center.

“Every budget reflects a community’s priorities,” said Terra Tucker, Strategic Lead for Scaling Safety Austin and Managing Director of Advocacy at Just Safe. “Austin has achieved something remarkable: violent crime declined across the city, and the neighborhoods served by community violence intervention organizations experienced even steeper reductions. The question is not whether Austin can afford to sustain these programs. It is whether Austin can afford to lose the infrastructure that helped make these gains possible.”

The report also documents the broader role of Austin’s violence intervention network during emergencies.

Following the March 1, 2026, mass shooting in Austin’s entertainment district, organizations including  Harvest Trauma Recovery Center, ATX Peace, Hungry Hill Foundation and Tomorrow’s Promise Foundation were activated alongside traditional emergency responders. They helped stabilize communities, counter misinformation, support victims and connect survivors with long-term trauma services.

Researchers said the response appears to be among the first documented examples of community violence intervention organizations being formally integrated into a city’s response to an indiscriminate mass shooting.

“Our findings reinforce what communities across the country are increasingly seeing,” said Cynthia Simons, City Coordinator for Scaling Safety Austin. “Public safety is strongest when law enforcement and community based organizations are both recognized for their complementary roles in keeping Austin safe and community violence intervention is effectively resourced. . Austin’s experience shows the value of investing in neighborhood groups that prevent violence before it happens and help victims recover when tragedy occurs.”

The analysis found a statistically significant relationship between community violence intervention coverage and larger reductions in violent crime. Although additional research would be needed to establish direct causation, the findings align with a growing body of national evidence supporting community-based violence prevention.

The report also found:

• One in four crime survivors received no services after being victimized.
• Seventeen percent of residents said they did not seek help because they did not trust available systems.
• One in six residents identified neighborhood initiatives, youth programs or community-based organizations as among the most important ways to reduce violence.
• National polling found that 80% of law enforcement officers believe services traditionally provided by community violence intervention organizations help prevent retaliation and make officers’ jobs safer.

Without renewed investment, the report warns, Austin could lose trusted relationships, neighborhood presence and crisis-response capacity that took years to build.

About Scaling Safety: Scaling Safety is a collaborative initiative led by Just Safe and the Community-Based Public Safety Collective, designed to integrate community-led violence prevention into the core of public safety infrastructure. By empowering residents, Scaling Safety builds sustainable programs that reduce violence, heal communities, and create permanent pathways to safer cities. Learn more.