City of Louisville holds first meeting for program taking 'different approach' to rising crime

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Coming off another year of record homicides in Louisville, city leaders moved forward with a program working to put a stop to the violence.

The program is called Group Violence Intervention, also known as GVI. It brings together city leaders and people potentially involved in crime, often identified through probation and parole. The first GVI "call-in" meeting for Louisville was held earlier this month.

According to a release from the city, "The message was simple: The city has and is offering the tools necessary to live a better life. Accept this offer and stop the violence, or you and your group will feel the full weight of the criminal justice system."

"Many of them are gang members," said Metro Council President David James, who attended the meeting. "Most of them are gang members actually."

The meeting also included other city and community leaders, representatives from the criminal justice system, businesses, nonprofits and faith communities and family members of victims.

"We're really trying a different approach to try and stop the violence," said Dondre Jefferson, the GVI project manager in Louisville.

GVI is not unique to Louisville. It has been used in other cities, where James said it has been successful. He said he believes the GVI program could work here but said change will not happen overnight.

"The people that speak to the individuals that have been called in explain to them that we know what they're up to and that we have an opportunity here today to try and change the direction of their path," he said. "It took a long time to get here and it will take a long time to get fixed."

The call-in meetings are expected to take place quarterly throughout the year. Those with the GVI program said this is just one part of a much larger plan for a brighter future for Louisville.

"GVI really is just one piece of our efforts to address gun violence in our community," said Keith Talley, Louisville's chief of community building.

Talley said there are weekly reviews with Louisville Metro Police, during which program leaders are informed of the previous week's shootings and work to prevent potential retaliation.

Earlier this year, Mayor Greg Fischer shared the city's legislative priorities, prior to the start of the Kentucky General Assembly's 2022. Top of the list is public safety. To read more about those priorities, click here.