Macon-Bibb County was named as one of the top 10 cities in the country for community violence prevention readiness, thanks to its Macon Violence Prevention program

Macon, GA – According to the officials, the 2023 Violence Prevention Index (VPI) was released by Community Justice, a national organization advocating for community-led solutions to end gun violence.

In the VPI, Macon-Bibb County was tied for sixth out of 100 U.S. cities in the country ready to respond to gun violence.

It was ranked on several categories, including outreach and hospital-based violence intervention programs; victims and survivor services; emergency and transitional housing; food assistance programs; workforce development programs; community-based mental health crisis response programs; and more. 

MVP began in 2021 to address the issue of a rising homicide rate, similar to what other cities were seeing at the time.

Though leaders said from the beginning it would take several years to see full results, there was significant improvement in the first year.

From 2022 to 2023, there was a nearly 43% reduction in homicides, from 70 to 40. The reduction in homicides for children (those 18 years old and younger) went from 15 in 2022 to 5 in 2023 – which is a 66.7% reduction in just one year.