How did they do it? By rejecting conventional wisdom, and instead developing a focused strategy informed by data, collaboration, and consistent pressure and leadership from local faith-based activist groups such as Oakland Community Organizations, a member of the Faith in Action network.
For decades, the accepted view in Oakland was that violence was driven by large numbers of young people engaged in conflicts over drugs. But when the city brought in Stewart Wakeling and Vaughn Crandall of the California Partnership for Safe Communities to conduct an in-depth problem analysis, the data told a different story.
