Public Safety Committee To Consider Extending Violence Prevention Partnership

The City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Wednesday will consider authorizing the City Manager to enter into a new agreement with community intervention leader Ricky Pickens Jr. to continue Pasadena’s gang outreach and violence interruption program credited with helping drive an 82% drop in shootings citywide during the first half of 2024.

Under the proposed agreement, Pickens would provide gang outreach and violence interruption services in an amount not to exceed $2.2 million over three years, with two one-year optional extensions through October 2030.

The proposal also includes a $120,000 budget amendment to the Public Health Department’s Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget to support the city’s ongoing violence prevention efforts.

Pickens oversees the city’s partnership with Gang Outreach Violence and Interruption Services (GOVIS), a street-level intervention program designed to reduce gang-related shootings through mediation, mentorship and conflict prevention.

According to Pasadena Police Department data, gang-related or possibly gang-related shootings fell from 11 to two in the first six months of 2024 — a dramatic reversal following a 125% increase in confirmed shootings between 2019 and 2021.

The GOVIS team logged 1,512 hours of service in the first quarter of 2024 and 1,665 hours in the second, while outreach and mediation activities also rose.

“Measuring the full impact of the team is a challenge since there is no practical way to measure what was prevented from occurring,” according to the staff report signed by Manuel Carmona of the city’s Public Health Department.

Pickens’ work has been praised for its role in connecting hard-to-reach communities with law enforcement and social services.

The Public Safety Committee meets at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting will be broadcast live on Pasadena Media Channel 3 and streamed on the city’s website.