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Portsmouth commission outlines $686,000 pilot for violence-interruption teams in four hotspots
Summary
The commission heard that a contract for a violence-interruption (VI) pilot was signed and routed to the city manager; the pilot will deploy contracted teams across four data-identified hotspots with a roughly $686,000 budget and a January start targeted to secure continued state funding.
The Portsmouth Crime and Gun Violence Prevention Commission on its final 2025 meeting was told that a contract to stand up a violence-interruption pilot has been finalized and is being routed to the city manager for signature so work can begin early next year.
Presenter (speaker 6) said the city issued two earlier RFPs with no viable offers and accepted an unsolicited proposal plus additional technical support. “They signed the contract today,” the presenter said, adding the program will first deploy at “our 4 micro hotspots: London Oaks, Dale's Home, Prentice Park and Southside.”
The commission was given a budget overview for the pilot. The presenter said, “This is about 686,000 to implement this for 4 sites,” and framed that spending against the estimated public cost of a homicide, which the presenter put “in that ballpark” between about $800,000 and $1.8 million when accounting for post-incident resources.
Program design calls for a program director, site leads, one violence interrupter (VI) and one outreach specialist per site, plus a floater VI. The presenter said the VIs will be contracted, not city employees, because most candidates have background issues that complicate direct city hiring; outreach specialists will have a stronger documentation and case-management role. On compensation, the presenter listed VI salaries at roughly $51,000 a year and outreach specialists around $56,000.
Commissioners pressed the presenter on vetting, hours and on-site bases. The presenter described a multi-step screening process that includes a panel interview, in-field vetting to confirm rapport and attaching that field report to background checks before contracting. She said VI hours will concentrate on periods of higher activity and that teams will use an Old Town hub with satellite spaces in target neighborhoods.
Members also urged built-in mental-health supports for frontline staff. One commissioner called such services “not something that is optional,” and a commissioner asked that weekly group check-ins be contractually required; the presenter said that modification to the contract would be straightforward.
The commission discussed the program’s timeline. The presenter said technical assistance to the VI program was originally slated to start in December but has moved to January, with commission TA to follow in January–February so the commission can track outcomes and preserve state funding eligibility.
Chair closed the discussion by asking commissioners with specific neighborhood concerns to meet quickly with staff so the pilot’s initial configuration is correct out of the box. The commission also asked staff to provide introductions to contracted teams once agreements are fully executed.
