Aurora Police, Youth Violence Prevention Selected to Present SAVE Program at Austin Conference
(May 12, 2026) – The Aurora Police Department and city partners with the Youth Violence Prevention Program have been selected to present the Aurora SAVE program during the 34th Annual International Problem-Oriented Policing Conference in November in Austin.
The invite comes after Aurora SAVE representatives recently won a competition hosted by the DC Police Leadership Academy.
Aurora SAVE is a focused-deterrence, intervention strategy designed to reduce youth gun violence in the city. The program is modeled after the Group Violence Intervention strategy through the National Network For Safe Communities at John Jay College, and was established through the city of Aurora’s Public Safety Partnership, a program of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Public Safety Partnership is a President Joe Biden-era program. In 2021, Aurora was selected as one of 10 cities to participate in the program, with the goal of reducing violent crime and enhancing community safety.
Aurora SAVE launched approximately two years later in September 2023 following several years of increasing gun violence. In 2019, the department recorded 95 confirmed shooting victims. That number increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 155 confirmed victims in 2020 and 213 in 2021, before peaking at 266 confirmed victims in 2022, marking a 180 percent increase over four years.
The number of confirmed shooting victims plateaued in 2023 and 2024 with 196 and 191, respectively.
Dr. David Pyrooz, a professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been studying gangs and criminal networks in Colorado since 2015, as well as evaluating the Aurora SAVE program since its inception. In March 2025, Dr. Pyrooz published a report examining the first full year of the Aurora SAVE program.
“The initial evidence is promising,” Dr. Pyrooz said. “The best-case scenario is that Aurora SAVE intervention prevented six fatal and non-fatal shootings in the city, representing potential cost savings of up to $20 million when factoring in medical costs, lost productivity and quality-of-life impacts.”
By the end of 2025, the number of confirmed shooting victims dropped sharply to 102, a 47 percent decline over 2024.
The hallmark of the SAVE program stems from Aurora Police Department and Youth Violence Prevention Program representatives working with community stakeholders and key leaders of active, violent street groups to identify and engage with youth most at risk for committing gun crimes. Accompanied by data-driven analysis and review, candidates are identified and selected through a custom notification process where they are offered services and support to leave a life of crime.
“We’re not relying on assumptions or arbitrary selection methods,” said Aurora SAVE Section Lt. Anna Bungartz. “Every individual contacted through this program has a documented connection to a shooting investigation, illegal firearm possession or felony menacing case involving a group or gang nexus.
“Aurora SAVE is a focused, intelligence-led initiative grounded in data and supported by proven research. This strategy has demonstrated measurable success in communities across the country, and we are seeing that same impact here in Aurora through targeted intervention, accountability and outreach designed to reduce violence and save lives.”
According to agency data, the highest concentrations of gun violence dating to 2019 have primarily occurred in west and northwest Aurora, in police Beats 2, 4, 13, 17 and 19. Since the Aurora SAVE program launched, coupled with proactive policing strategies under Chief Todd Chamberlain – including directed patrols and hot spot policing, among others – all five districts experienced year-over-year declines in gun violence from 2024 to 2025.
Beat 4 saw the most significant decline with just one confirmed shooting victim in 2025, down from 22 the previous year. Beat 13 also saw a steep drop in confirmed shooting victims with one in 2025 compared to 15 in 2024. Collectively, Beats 2, 17 and 19 saw confirmed shooting victims drop from 25 in 2024 down to 10 in 2025.
As of May 11, the Aurora Police Department has recorded 14 confirmed victims of nonfatal shootings and has investigated five homicides. Beats 2, 4, 13, 17 and 19 account for six of the 14 confirmed nonfatal shooting victims so far this year. Compared to this time last year, homicides are down 55.6 percent and shootings are down 21 percent.
“The true measure of Aurora SAVE’s success is the number of lives impacted and protected from gun violence,” said Deputy Chief Kevin Barnes, who oversees the Aurora Police Department’s Special Operations Division, including the Aurora SAVE Section. “In 2025, Aurora experienced its most significant reduction in shooting victims in the past five years; a decline that reflects the effectiveness of this focused, collaborative approach to violence intervention.
“This progress is the result of strong partnerships between the Aurora Police Department, city agencies, community organizations and the residents we serve. Aurora SAVE is reaching individuals most at risk and providing meaningful alternatives to cycles of violence. At its core, this program is about creating opportunities, restoring hope and making our neighborhoods safer for families across our community.”
Joe Moylan
Public Information Officer
720.432.5095