The Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA) is a community collaboration among several organizations committed to reducing violent crime in the urban core. It is spearheaded by a Governing Board consisting of the following organizations: Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, City of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City Missouri Police Department (KCPD), Missouri Board of Probation and Parole, University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC), U.S. Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Working together, this group is implementing a proven strategy to significantly reduce violent crime. This strategy, known as focused deterrence, has worked in several other communities such as Boston and Cincinnati. A focused deterrence model incorporates three basic elements:

Faculty and students in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology have been embedded researchers in NoVA, assisting with identifying and gathering performance indicators, and providing training and technical assistance.