FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT

Cell: 870.510.0386

Email:  kevin.crumpton@cityofpinebluff-ar.gov

Pine Bluff Group Violence Intervention to Conduct GVI University on March 25

The Pine Bluff Group Violence Intervention (GVI) will conduct GVI University on Monday, March 25, 2024 from 9:30am to 3:30pm. The location is the Pine Bluff Convention Center at 1 Convention Center Drive in Pine Bluff, AR.

GVI University is a one-day working session to educate key city partners and stakeholders on the key components of the Group Violence Intervention. The public is invited to attend, according to a news release.

GVI University is a seminar-style discussion with key executive stakeholders from the city such as multi-agency law enforcement leadership, community leadership and committed social service providers.

Led by Kevin Johnson and Debra Higens, National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC) staff, GVI University provides a comprehensive overview of GVI.

The session is also an opportunity for NNSC to begin to discuss with key stakeholders how the framework can be tailored to suit Pine Bluff's particular on-the-ground violence dynamics.

The main topic areas of the GVI University workshop are as follows:

■ Current violence dynamics in the city (briefing from city partners) GVI overview: theory, problem analysis, implementation process, and maintenance.

■ Strategic law enforcement.

■ Community moral engagement.

■ Outreach and support.

■ Custom notifications.

■ Governance structure.

City partners and stakeholders will come away from the GVI University workshop with a full understanding of the GVI strategy, as well as concrete, actionable steps to implement the strategy in Pine Bluff, according to the release.

Workshop attendees will understand how the three main components of the GVI (law enforcement, community, and outreach and support) work together to reduce gun violence, minimize the use of incarceration, and reset relationships between law enforcement and the community.

GVI University is free of charge. Lunch will be served by Rice First Class Catering.

Kevin Crumpton, Sr. is the director of the Pine Bluff Group Violence Intervention.

For more information, contact Crumpton at 870.510.0386.