For decades, the city of Oakland, California, has grappled with violence, and it has implemented multiple strategies to respond to and prevent violence. Since 2014, many of these strategies have been funded by a local tax measure, the Public Safety and Services Violence Prevention Act, popularly known as Measure Z.
The Measure Z–funded services have two main parts: (1) violence prevention and intervention strategies operated by the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) and a network of community-based organizations, and (2) geographic, special-victims, and community-policing services implemented by the Oakland Police Department. The strategies operated by the DVP and implemented by local organizations focus on preventing and serving people affected by group and gender-based violence, promoting community healing and restoration, and preventing violence in schools.
Our Findings
The Urban Institute, in partnership with Urban Strategies Council, was selected by the City of Oakland to conduct a process and impact evaluation of Measure Z–funded initiatives from July 2022 to June 2025. The evaluation seeks to describe what services have been provided under Measure Z, the quality of those services, and how they affect levels of violence at the individual and community levels.
Department of Violence Prevention
Final Evaluation Reports
This executive summary provides an overview of the Measure Z-funded services, how they were implemented, and their impacts. The summary lists recommendations across all the violence prevention and intervention strategies.
Group Violence Response Strategy
This report evaluates the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention’s group violence response strategy, which responds to violent incidents, mediates conflicts, and engages people at elevated risk of involvement in violence in a variety of services to support their growth and success. The report describes recent trends in violence, the implementation of the strategy, and the outcomes for life coaching participants.
Response to Gender-Based Violence
This report evaluates Oakland Department of Violence Prevention’s strategy for responding to gender-based violence, which provides services to support people’s immediate safety and longer-term well-being. This report describes trends in gender-based violence in Oakland and the implementation of the activities funded by Measure Z under this strategy area.
Community Healing and Restoration Strategy
This report evaluates the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention’s community healing and restoration strategy. This strategy, funded by Measure Z, promotes ground-up community healing efforts through Town Nights events, family and therapeutic support services, and other restorative activities. The report describes the implementation of these activities and examines the effects of Town Nights events on immediate safety outcomes.
School Violence Intervention and Prevention Program
This report evaluates the school violence intervention and prevention program, a school-based initiative operating in Oakland high schools. The programs provide violence interruption and mediation, gender-based-violence case management and education, individualized life coaching, and community healing activities. The report describes the implementation of these activities and examines the effects of receiving these services on student outcomes.
