BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS

1

WHAT IS THE CARDIFF VIOLENCE

PREVENTION MODEL? 

More than half of violent crime in the United States is 

not reported to law enforcement, according to the U.S. 

Department of Justice. That means cities and communities 

lack a complete understanding of where violence occurs, 

which limits the ability to develop successful solutions.

The Cardiff Violence Prevention Model provides a way for 

communities to gain a clearer picture about where violence 

is occurring by combining and mapping both hospital and 

police data on violence. But more than just an approach to 

map and understand violence, the Cardiff Model provides a 

straightforward framework for hospitals, law enforcement 

agencies, public health agencies, community groups, and 

others interested in violence prevention to work together 

and develop collaborative violence prevention strategies.
TOOLKIT: BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS 2

WHO NEEDS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CARDIFF MODEL TO 

CREATE A COMMUNITY SAFETY PARTNERSHIP (CSP)?*

Strong Cardiff Model Community Safety Partnerships will 

likely involve, at minimum, public health agencies, hospitals, 

and law enforcement organizations. Based on where maps 

are showing that violence is occurring, the CSP may bring in 

other government agencies and community organizations to 

partner on violence prevention programs and activities.

It is important to have designated hospital, public health, 

and law enforcement representatives, and multiple 

individuals if possible from each agency, participating in 

the CSP. Key hospital members may include emergency 

department physicians, charge nurses, or senior trauma 

staff. Key law enforcement individuals may include senior 

officers who report directly to command staff, those within 

leadership positions, and those who produce or assist in 

producing maps of where violence occurs, (referred to as 

"hotspot" maps in the law enforcement community). 

Partnership members are best 

guided by which locations the 

hospital and law enforcement 

maps reveal as areas of 

the greatest violence and 

partnering with agencies or 

organizations that serve those 

areas. Cardiff Model Potential 

Partnership Members may 

include:

• Hospitals

• Law Enforcement 

Agencies

• Public Health 

Department

• City Planning/Zoning 

Officials

• Mayor’s Office

• Faith Based 

Organizations

• Business Associations

• Other Community 

Organizations

WHY IS A MULTI-AGENCY CSP IMPORTANT FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION?

Multi-agency CSPs provide an opportunity to (1) frame violence prevention as a law enforcement 

strategy to reduce crime and (2) address violence prevention using a public health approach. The 

public health approach† encourages violence prevention at a population level to provide data and 

interventions with the maximum benefit for the largest number of people.

For example, in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, the Violence Prevention Board (local name of the 

CSP) identified many violent assaults occurring in particular streets in the city’s main entertainment 

district. After investigating, the Board realized these assaults were largely due to alcohol-intoxicated 

individuals bumping into each other on the sidewalks after a night of drinking, resulting in fights. This 

risk was made worse by people becoming frustrated while waiting to be served at fast food outlets and 

for taxis. The Board worked with the city to make streets more pedestrian friendly, move taxi stands, 

and appoint taxi marshals (capable guardians), which helped decrease violent assaults in the area.

"Community Safety Partnership" is not intended to be prescriptive; local communities are encouraged to adopt a name, if they so choose, to represent 

their local collaboration.

For more information about the public health approach please visit https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/overview/publichealthapproach.html

*

†
TOOLKIT: BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS 3

KEY STEPS TO STARTING THE CARDIFF MODEL CSP IN MY COMMUNITY:

1. RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

a. Establish a CSP between law enforcement and local 

hospitals and a public health agency

b. Determine the most useful injury information (time, date, 

and location are critical elements) for the CSP

c. Establish regular intervals (e.g. monthly) for the CSP to meet 

and discuss violence information, maps identifying areas 

of violence, and other relevant issues. In-person meetings 

focused on violence prevention are a great way to build 

relationships between individuals and the organizations 

they represent.

• Face-to-face meetings are important to develop relationships 

within the partnership, although phone meetings may sometimes 

be more convenient

• CSPs are also encouraged to have opportunities for informal 

meeting settings such as over breakfast/lunch/coffee or having a 

meeting followed by some time for socializing

2. HOSPITAL BUY-IN AND SUPPORT (SEE "HOSPITAL GUIDANCE" 

FACT SHEET)

a. Obtain hospital (emergency department/trauma) leadership 

buy-in and support

b. Obtain permissions for collecting and sharing injury 

information

c. Navigate HIPAA and privacy rules (see "Legal, Technical, and 

Financial Considerations" fact sheet)

3. LAW ENFORCEMENT BUY-IN AND SUPPORT (SEE "LAW 

ENFORCEMENT GUIDANCE" FACT SHEET)

a. Obtain law enforcement leadership buy-in and support

b. Obtain permissions for sharing law enforcement data with 

mapping partner

4. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL PROCESSES

a. Identify, establish procedures, and train hospital staff to 

collect violence information

b. Identify partner performing the mapping of combined 

data (likely public health agency) and establish technical 

procedures

5. VIOLENCE INFORMATION AND MAP SHARING

a. Identify hospital information technology/data quality team 

to set up data sharing

b. Establish procedures for sharing violence information and 

maps

c. If necessary, develop and sign a shared data use agreement

6. INJURY PREVENTION INTERVENTION IDENTIFICATION, 

PLANNING, AND EXECUTION

a. Review hospital violence and law enforcement information 

combined maps identifying areas of violence

b. Identify an area or areas that the CSP would like to examine 

more closely to plan violence prevention activities

c. Examine the types of violence occurring in the areas and 

consider all aspects of the area, such as: geographic area 

features (roads/intersections, lighting, transportation 

options, etc.), businesses (bars, clubs, restaurants, lounges, 

gas stations, etc.), and other factors that may contribute to 

violence and injury

d. Recruit appropriate partners to the CSP based on the 

patterns of violence (e.g. other government agencies 

such as alcohol licensing or code enforcement; business 

associations; or community leaders)

e. Identify and review any existing evidence-based strategies 

that could be appropriate for this area (e.g. address risk 

and/or protective factors that are particularly relevant to 

the community or make use of unique opportunities in the 

community)

• Evidence-based strategies used in other communities, 

including the U.K. serve as important resources to help guide 

implementation of violence prevention interventions

• CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention has several technical 

packages on different topics (e.g. Child Abuse and Neglect, Sexual 

Violence, Youth Violence, Suicide) that may serve as a resource 

for identifying strategies that are based on the best available 

evidence. Available here: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/

pub/technical-packages.html 

f. The partnership should determine next steps which may 

include: reviewing crime report narratives, visiting the area, 

examining the types of violence and injuries, talking with 

business/community leaders to see if they are willing to 

work with the CSP, and any other ideas that are driven by the 

maps.

g. Cardiff Model interventions have included strategies at 

multiple levels:

• Policy: Switching to toughened glass in bars and enforcing 

alcohol-related ordinances

• Community: Repairing the appearance of buildings and vacant 

lots to improve lighting and visibility, increasing police patrols 

in high-violence areas, and creating more pedestrian-friendly 

streets

• Individuals: Developing programs where "capable guardians," 

such as clergy, assist at-risk individuals

LEARN MORE about the Cardiff Model and how to start using it in your community’s violence 

prevention efforts at www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/fundedprograms/cardiffmodel

This material was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The pilot 

of the Cardiff Violence Prevention Model was a collaboration between the CDC, DeKalb County 

Police Department, Grady Health System, the University of Pennsylvania, and the CDC Foundation. 

Support for this pilot was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.