Erie, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Office of Gun Violence Prevention hosted the second in a series of regional listening sessions at the Erie Center for Arts & Technology (ECAT) to share what’s working to reduce violence, where additional resources are needed, and how the state can help support community‑driven solutions to make the region and 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 Northwestern Pennsylvania, communities are facing unique challenges, including rising firearm suicides and domestic violence‑related fatalities. Addressing these issues requires strong collaboration across multiple systems, and by bringing together regional partners for these convenings, we hope to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones to make communities across our Commonwealth safer.”
Today’s listening session brought together individuals from community-based organizations, criminal justice and reentry, victim services, youth-serving organizations, and more for a discussion centered around regional trends as well as programs that are making an impact in their communities.
Some key gun violence-related trends in the region include:
25 homicides were reported in 2024, a 34 percent decrease from 38 in 2023.
113 adult firearm suicides in the region in 2023, an increase from 98 in 2022.
12 domestic violence victim fatalities were reported in 2024, up from 9 in 2023.
9 out of 13 Northwestern Pennsylvania counties are utilizing the evidence-based Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) to reduce domestic violence homicides and identified 203 high-danger responses in 2024.
More than 90 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, and 17 percent of youth surveyed seriously considered attempting suicide.
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.
Earlier this year, PCCD 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.
To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention and the Shapiro-Davis Administration's work to reduce gun violence, visit the PCCD website.