Topline: Oakland officials say a violence prevention strategy that pairs people at risk of retaliation with life coaches has helped drive the city to its lowest homicide total in nearly six decades.
Published: May 1, 2026 2:30 pm ET
Shawn Fletcher
Committed to the craft of journalism and am driven by my desire to inform and inspire.
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OAKLAND, CA — City officials and violence prevention workers say the Oakland Ceasefire-Lifeline program has become a key part of the city’s dramatic decline in killings by identifying people most likely to be pulled into gang violence and offering them direct support, including life coaches.
The program brings together prosecutors, clergy, survivors of shootings and outreach workers to meet with young men considered at high risk of either retaliating after a shooting or becoming victims themselves. Police provide names, but officials say officers are otherwise not involved in the intervention sessions. The city’s Department of Violence Prevention then offers one-on-one or group meetings and a range of services to try to pull people away from violent cycles.
Officials say there is no single explanation for the city’s falling homicide rate, but they argue the relaunch of the program after a 2023 audit has made a measurable difference. Oakland recorded 118 homicides in 2023, 78 in 2024 and a record low of 57 last year. In a city of about 400,000 people, officials said homicide levels have not been this low since 1967.
For nearly 25 years, Oakland had ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities, with annual homicide rates ranging from 16.2 to 36.4 deaths per 100,000 residents while the national rate hovered around five per 100,000. The city originally adopted the lifeline model, first developed in Boston, after gun violence in 2011 killed three children ages 1, 3 and 5 in separate incidents. Oakland then recorded a 43 percent reduction in homicides from 2012 through 2017 before officials later weakened the effort and it was effectively dismantled during the pandemic, according to the audit.
According to an Associated Press report published by WDIV, violence prevention chief Holly Joshi said many of the clients have little faith in themselves and place little value on their own lives. The report highlighted Bernard, a 27-year-old former gang member who was paired with life coach LaSasha Long after leaving prison following a six-year sentence for attempted robbery. Bernard now has a full-time job, an apartment and says he better understands how violence hurts everyone around him. Long, whose own mother was killed by a stray bullet when she was a toddler, described life coaching as “heart work” focused on helping someone see light in a dark tunnel.
Bernard said the support changed his outlook and inspired him to help others. On a recent work break in San Francisco, he stopped to help a teenage bicyclist who had crashed, a small act he said reflected how much he had changed since entering the program.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Oakland Credits Life Coaches, Ceasefire Program for Historic Drop in Homicides
Oakland officials say a violence prevention strategy that pairs people at risk of retaliation with life coaches has helped drive the city to its lowest homicide total in nearly six decades.
By Shawn Fletcher
Published: May 1, 2026 2:30 pm ET
OAKLAND, CA — City officials and violence prevention workers say the Oakland Ceasefire-Lifeline program has become a key part of the city’s dramatic decline in killings by identifying people most likely to be pulled into gang violence and offering them direct support, including life coaches.
The program brings together prosecutors, clergy, survivors of shootings and outreach workers to meet with young men considered at high risk of either retaliating after a shooting or becoming victims themselves. Police provide names, but officials say officers are otherwise not involved in the intervention sessions. The city’s Department of Violence Prevention then offers one-on-one or group meetings and a range of services to try to pull people away from violent cycles.
Officials say there is no single explanation for the city’s falling homicide rate, but they argue the relaunch of the program after a 2023 audit has made a measurable difference. Oakland recorded 118 homicides in 2023, 78 in 2024 and a record low of 57 last year. In a city of about 400,000 people, officials said homicide levels have not been this low since 1967.
For nearly 25 years, Oakland had ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities, with annual homicide rates ranging from 16.2 to 36.4 deaths per 100,000 residents while the national rate hovered around five per 100,000. The city originally adopted the lifeline model, first developed in Boston, after gun violence in 2011 killed three children ages 1, 3 and 5 in separate incidents. Oakland then recorded a 43 percent reduction in homicides from 2012 through 2017 before officials later weakened the effort and it was effectively dismantled during the pandemic, according to the audit.
According to an Associated Press report published by WDIV, violence prevention chief Holly Joshi said many of the clients have little faith in themselves and place little value on their own lives. The report highlighted Bernard, a 27-year-old former gang member who was paired with life coach LaSasha Long after leaving prison following a six-year sentence for attempted robbery. Bernard now has a full-time job, an apartment and says he better understands how violence hurts everyone around him. Long, whose own mother was killed by a stray bullet when she was a toddler, described life coaching as “heart work” focused on helping someone see light in a dark tunnel.
Bernard said the support changed his outlook and inspired him to help others. On a recent work break in San Francisco, he stopped to help a teenage bicyclist who had crashed, a small act he said reflected how much he had changed since entering the program.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Oakland Credits Life Coaches, Ceasefire Program for Historic Drop in Homicides
Oakland officials say a violence prevention strategy that pairs people at risk of retaliation with life coaches has helped drive the city to its lowest homicide total in nearly six decades.
By Shawn Fletcher
Published: May 1, 2026 2:30 pm ET
OAKLAND, CA — City officials and violence prevention workers say the Oakland Ceasefire-Lifeline program has become a key part of the city’s dramatic decline in killings by identifying people most likely to be pulled into gang violence and offering them direct support, including life coaches.
The program brings together prosecutors, clergy, survivors of shootings and outreach workers to meet with young men considered at high risk of either retaliating after a shooting or becoming victims themselves. Police provide names, but officials say officers are otherwise not involved in the intervention sessions. The city’s Department of Violence Prevention then offers one-on-one or group meetings and a range of services to try to pull people away from violent cycles.
Officials say there is no single explanation for the city’s falling homicide rate, but they argue the relaunch of the program after a 2023 audit has made a measurable difference. Oakland recorded 118 homicides in 2023, 78 in 2024 and a record low of 57 last year. In a city of about 400,000 people, officials said homicide levels have not been this low since 1967.
For nearly 25 years, Oakland had ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities, with annual homicide rates ranging from 16.2 to 36.4 deaths per 100,000 residents while the national rate hovered around five per 100,000. The city originally adopted the lifeline model, first developed in Boston, after gun violence in 2011 killed three children ages 1, 3 and 5 in separate incidents. Oakland then recorded a 43 percent reduction in homicides from 2012 through 2017 before officials later weakened the effort and it was effectively dismantled during the pandemic, according to the audit.
According to an Associated Press report published by WDIV, violence prevention chief Holly Joshi said many of the clients have little faith in themselves and place little value on their own lives. The report highlighted Bernard, a 27-year-old former gang member who was paired with life coach LaSasha Long after leaving prison following a six-year sentence for attempted robbery. Bernard now has a full-time job, an apartment and says he better understands how violence hurts everyone around him. Long, whose own mother was killed by a stray bullet when she was a toddler, described life coaching as “heart work” focused on helping someone see light in a dark tunnel.
Bernard said the support changed his outlook and inspired him to help others. On a recent work break in San Francisco, he stopped to help a teenage bicyclist who had crashed, a small act he said reflected how much he had changed since entering the program.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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