New MNJRC evaluation finds Saint Paul’s Gun Violence Intervention Program is reaching the right people

Saint Paul needs Project PEACE, and the data suggest Project PEACE is delivering. "The program is young, still building its infrastructure, and navigating a challenging political and funding environment. But the foundation is there.”

MNJRC’s Recommendations:

1) Clarify the model.

2) Prioritize and strengthen key partnerships.

3) Support and invest in life coaches.

4) Strengthen data collection and impact storytelling.

5) Focus on stable and sustained funding.

The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) has released "What Does it Look Like to Keep Us Safe, Alive, and Free?," a two-year developmental evaluation of Project PEACE, Saint Paul’s gun violence intervention program run by the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS).

The report finds PEACE to be a promising approach, deeply impacting the individuals and communities most affected by gun violence in the city. Its future will depend on both funding and clarity on its role in the gun violence prevention and intervention ecosystem.
In 2022, the City of Saint Paul’s Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) launched Project PEACE (Prevention/Intervention, Environmental Design, Accountability/Outreach, Community Action, and Enforcement), designed as a hybrid GVI/CVI approach to address gun violence at its roots.
In 2024, ONS contracted with the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) to conduct a developmental evaluation of Project PEACE to define and explore its effectiveness and impact on gun- and group-violence-involved individuals, their families, and the wider Saint Paul community. Over the course of two years, the evaluation drew on:
• 67 interviews with ONS staff, municipal and community partners, clients and their families, and national gun violence intervention and prevention experts;
• 20 observations of meetings, community events, and life coach-client sessions;
• 483 community survey responses;
• and Saint Paul Police Department data on gun violence from 2021 to 2024.

Among the report's key findings:
• The gun violence intervention and prevention ecosystem in Saint Paul is vast and shifting. ONS’s Project PEACE fills a critical gap as a trusted bridge across partners to prevent, respond to, and address gun violence in ways no other entity can.
MNJRC observed collaboration shifts over the two-year evaluation: Partnership with the Saint Paul Police Department shifted from initial collaboration to disjointed communication, and relationships with Community-Based Organizations began to deepen. 
• Life coaches are the heart of Project PEACE—the most valuable asset and potentially the most vulnerable one.
Life Coaches are credible messengers with strong community connections in Saint Paul. Researchers found that clients consistently described their life coaches as showing up with "urgency, consistency, and genuine care rather than judgment.” This support kept them out of jail and off dangerous paths. But funding for these life coaches is precarious.
• Project PEACE staff are operating at the right time, in the right space, with the right people
For example, gun violence has decreased in the years following the launch of Project PEACE, and neighborhood-level analysis found meaningful reductions in non-fatal shootings in hyperlocal hot spots where Project PEACE staff have been active, including parts of Frogtown and Payne-Phalen.
Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said just knowing about Project PEACE makes them feel safer.
Access the full report at mnjrc.org/peace.

About the Minnesota Justice Research Center
The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to driving meaningful change to Minnesota’s criminal legal system through rigorous and community-centered research, education, and policy development. The MNJRC works with people with a wide range of knowledge and experience in the criminal legal system, including scholars, practitioners, students, survivors, and those who have served time in prison. For more information, go to www.mnjrc.org.