Today marks two years since George Floyd’s life was taken in a brutal and callous act of violence by a police officer. Mr. Floyd’s death sparked a movement to address violence and systemic racism by police and it stands as a symbol for the more than 1,000 people killed by police violence every year and of the inequity of this problem that claims nearly three times as many Black victims than White victims.
There is an epidemic of violence within the United States and violence committed by law enforcement in the line of duty is a public health crisis within this epidemic. Cure Violence Global (CVG) is guided by the understanding that violence is a public health issue. CVG’s mission is to reduce violence globally using evidence-based disease control and behavior change methods. In this way, CVG helps communities to implement violence prevention programs that are effective in significantly reducing violence. CVG continues to be committed to working towards our vision of a world without violence, including working to reduce police violence.
CVG welcomes the executive order and the Department of Justice guidelines on use of force policies. We hope that state and local law enforcement entities will soon follow suit.
On this anniversary, in honor of Mr. Floyd and the thousands of other victims of police violence, CVG reconfirms its commitment to:
- Guide communities to effective interventions to reduce violence without involving police
- Advance the understanding of violence as a contagious public health issue, including police violence
- Advocate for system-level change and violence interruption approaches within law enforcement departments to prevent acts of violence by police and to shift norms related to the use of violence
- Educate and inform the public on methods to effectively stop the spread of violence
Let us all renew our commitment to stopping violence wherever it happens and, especially, when perpetrated by the very people who are paid to protect our communities.
Together, we can achieve our vision of a World without Violence