In May, UPI helped convene the eighth annual Gang Prevention & Intervention Conference, organized by our partners Southern California Crossroads and St. Francis Medical Center. With its largest attendance yet, the Conference united over 800 violence prevention and intervention leaders from around the world to share best practices and learn about new approaches to reduce violence. UPI also convened a specialized third day of the Conference, which gathered 60 peacemakers and community safety leaders from across the country to share regional strategies. UPI was blown away by the energy and discussions among participants on how to translate on-the-ground efforts into transformational systems change.

At the Conference, Executive Director Fernando Rejón served on a panel with UPI's Co-Founder Susan Lee, presenting the linkages between justice system reform and violence prevention efforts. UPI's Josh Green presented on the benefits of Los Angeles’ evolving juvenile diversion efforts to prevent the devastating cycle of mass incarceration from the start, and Sean Garcia-Leys participated on a panel discussing the collateral consequences of being entered in a gang database.