Research Team
Crime and Justice Policy Lab, University of Pennsylvania
Boston University
Innovations for Poverty Action
Project Overview
Mexico City undertook a bold, data-driven effort to reduce gun violence through Alto al Fuego (Ceasefire), a strategy co-designed with the Crime and Justice Policy Lab (CJP), Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), and academic partners from Yale and Boston University (BU). The initiative adapts the Focused Deterrence framework to the local institutional, social, and criminal dynamics of Mexico City.
A detailed problem analysis conducted by the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SCS) in partnership with CJP, IPA and BU, showed that a very small number of individuals, connected through fragile alliances and cycles of retaliation, were responsible for a disproportionate share of homicides and non-fatal shootings in Plateros, the pilot sector.
With strong political leadership from then–Governor and now President Claudia Sheinbaum and from the SCS Chiefs Omar García Harfuch and Pablo Vázquez Camacho, Mexico City prioritized reducing gun violence without relying on broad crackdowns. Alto al Fuego (Ceasefire) was launched in 2019 as a cross-agency partnership integrating law enforcement, community voices, and tailored social-service supports.
Their management model, comprising weekly shooting reviews, coordination meetings, and performance reviews, ensures that agencies can respond immediately to emerging risks and sustain progress over time. The approach aligns with decades of evidence from U.S. cities showing that reducing violence requires not only political will and resources, but continuous, intentional, cross-agency management.
Results from the Plateros pilot are promising. Between 2019 and 2023, homicides fell by 58% and non-fatal shootings by 17%, declines significantly larger than those observed in comparison sectors and the city overall. The program was recognized with the 2024 IACP Leadership in Crime Prevention Award for its innovative, low-cost, high-impact design.
In recent years, the strategy was scaled to three city areas (alcaldías) and five police sectors with the highest homicide rates. In late 2025, CJP was invited to rejoin the SCS, alongside IPA and BU, to conduct a diagnostic, support and strengthen scaling of the strategy, and undertake a rigorous impact evaluation of the pilot, to support continued reductions in violence across Mexico City.
