Lancaster, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Office of Gun Violence Prevention launched the first in a series of regional listening sessions to share what’s working, where additional resources are needed, and how the state can help support community‑driven solutions to make Pennsylvania safer.
“We’re making progress in reducing gun violence statewide. Since the start of the Shapiro-Davis Administration, violent crime has declined significantly statewide – but even one life lost to gun violence is one too many, said Charla Plaines, Director of PCCD’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention. “Here in the South Central region, firearm suicide has increased in recent years. Collaboration is key to reducing all types of gun violence, and by bringing together regional partners for these convenings, we’re hoping to build new, and strengthen existing, relationships to make our communities safer.”
Today’s South Central Pennsylvania listening session brought together individuals from law enforcement, community-based organizations, criminal justice and reentry, victim services, youth serving organizations, and more for a discussion centered around regional trends and programs that are making an impact in their community.
Some key gun violence-related trends in the region include:
56 homicides were reported in 2024, a 33 percent decrease from 83 in 2023.
11 domestic violence victim fatalities were reported in 2024, down from 20 in 2023.
9 out of 12 South Central Pennsylvania counties are utilizing the evidence-based Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) and identified 556 high-danger responses in 2024.
More than 80 percent of local students participating in the 2025 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) reported that it would be “sort of hard” or “very hard” to obtain a handgun.
The goal of these listening sessions is to compile a report highlighting the state’s progress in reducing gun violence since Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2024-02 on September 9, 2024, re-establishing the Pennsylvania Office of Gun Violence Prevention within PCCD.
Since that time, the office has also:
Gathered feedback from nearly 900 Pennsylvanians through an online feedback form and seven statewide listening sessions;
Convened a statewide advisory committee, and launched four subcommittees focused on the Commonwealth’s key gun violence prevention priorities: youth gun involvement, firearm suicide prevention, community violence, and the intersection of domestic and intimate partner violence and gun violence; and
Released an Initial Report and Strategic Plan.
PCCD recently approved 177 new projects across Pennsylvania under the VIP and BOOST programs, totaling more than $65 million statewide in the latest round of grants to support community safety initiatives and youth programming. State funding for VIP has more than doubled under the Shapiro-Davis Administration, and PCCD has approved over 350 VIP and BOOST projects, totaling approximately $162 million.
Governor Shapiro’s 2026-27 budget proposal continues to make investments in community organizations doing critical violence prevention work by proposing a $5.2 million increase for VIP and a $1 million increase for BOOST, bringing the total proposed investment to $68.3 million.
More photos from today’s listening session can be found on PCCD’s Flickr.