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Lowell Police Department Highlights Impact as Shannon Community Safety Initiative Enters 20th Year

LOWELL — It has been 20 years since the Shannon Community Safety Initiative (CSI) began providing major funding to a community-wide approach to preventing and reducing gang and juvenile crime, and police are now drawing attention to a significant, long-term reduction in violent crime in Lowell that coincides with the community’s efforts.
Officer Dominic Lessieur spars with a young man at the Lowell Police Boxing Gym, where officers build relationships with youth while teaching them boxing skills. The Lowell Police Boxing Gym and youth engagement programs, overtime for Gang Unit, Youth Services and School Resource officers, and funding for youth development programs at agencies across Lowell are just a few of the activities supported for two decades now by millions of dollars in funding from the Shannon Community Safety Initiative. (Photo Courtesy Lowell Police Department)

LOWELL — It has been 20 years since the Shannon Community Safety Initiative (CSI) began providing major funding to a community-wide approach to preventing and reducing gang and juvenile crime, and police are now drawing attention to a significant, long-term reduction in violent crime in Lowell that coincides with the community’s efforts.

There are many factors that must be considered in connection with long-term reductions in violent crime, and one of them is undoubtedly the multi-pronged approach supported by Shannon CSI.

Since 2006, the Shannon CSI has provided funding to urban communities throughout Massachusetts to address gang and youth violence via a multi-pronged approach focused on prevention, intervention, and suppression. 

The Shannon CSI provides much needed funding to numerous community organizations that provide recreation, employment and education services to at-risk youth. In addition, it supports police-led programs aimed at building relationships with youth while offering a variety of recreation opportunities free of charge. A portion of funding is also allocated for overtime to the Gang Unit for suppression activities. 

The Office of Grants and Research, which administers Shannon CSI grants, has provided approximately $13 million to Lowell Police and Lowell community partners over the duration of the initiative’s 20 years. The program has provided over $176.2 million in funding statewide. 

Statewide, violent crime in communities receiving Shannon CSI funding declined significantly between 2020 and 2024, according to an analysis conducted by the state. In those communities, aggravated assaults dropped by 24 percent, while armed robberies committed by youth ages 10 to 24 — the age group served by the Shannon CSI — declined by 52 percent.

In Lowell, an analysis conducted by the Lowell Police Crime Analysis and Intelligence Unit found an even sharper decline in both aggravated assaults and armed robberies over an even longer timeframe. From 2016 to 2025, aggravated assaults reported in Lowell declined by 46 percent, from 535 in 2016 to 289 in 2025. Reported armed robberies dropped even more precipitously, declining 72 percent, from 95 in 2016 to 27 in 2025. 

Juvenile arrests have also fallen significantly over the past 10 years, dropping over 70 percent from 224 in 2016, to 67 in 2025. 

There have been significant declines in violent crime both nationwide and across Massachusetts over the past decade, but the reductions experienced in Lowell have generally outpaced both state and national declines. 

“Funding from the Shannon Community Safety Initiative has enabled us to broaden the coalition of community organizations that we partner with as we seek to prevent crime, and we believe those partnerships have yielded results,” said Superintendent Greg Hudon. “Lowell has experienced a significant, long-term drop in violent crime and juvenile crime over the past decade, and our entire community deserves credit for that. We are extremely grateful to our dedicated officers, the Office of Grants and Research, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all of our many community partners here in Lowell.”

Community programs that receive Shannon CSI funding in Lowell include:

  • The Lowell Recreation Department provides free programming to youth, aimed at getting kids off the street and involved in safe activities. The department also uses Shannon CSI funds to support providing jobs to low-income, at-risk youth.
  • The MassHire Youth Adult Career Center provides work experience programs to at-risk youth between ages 14 and 24.
  • The YWCA of Lowell provides youth development activities promoting leadership, healthy interpersonal peer and community relationships, and hosts events promoting violence prevention, community services, and healthy personal strategies.
  • The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell provides high-risk teenagers access to mentoring, academic support, sports, music, performance arts, career and college readiness training and field trips. The club also hosts designated teen nights on weeknights.
  • Lowell High School provides tutoring services to students in need, with some tutoring sessions aimed at helping truant students get back on track.
  • The Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association offers programming aimed at developing leadership and keeping youth off the streets. Activities include sports, team building workshops, and guest speakers.
  • CTI YouthBuild provides educational and developmental programming for youth ages 16 to 24.

The Lowell Police Department uses Shannon CSI funding to support programs that include:

Lowell Police estimate that there have been up to 30,000 participants in Shannon CSI-funded programs in Lowell over the decades, with many individuals participating in more than one program. 

“The Shannon Grant has been integral to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell’s vision to end generational poverty,” said Joe Hungler, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell. “A recent alumni visit highlights the impact. The young man talked about how he only cared about basketball and had been kicked out of Lowell Catholic and was not doing well at Lowell High. Our Athletics Manager intervened, got his parents involved and helped him figure out his goals. He ended up back at Lowell Catholic, graduated college with a double major and is now back at the Club to pay it forward.”

“Shannon CSI funding has been invaluable in strengthening our positive youth development programming as part of youth violence prevention. We are deeply grateful for this support, which allows us to reach more youth sooner when it matters most,” said Christine Napolitano, Youth and Family Services Director at the YWCA of Lowell. “YWCA of Lowell is proud to partner with the Lowell Police Department and other dedicated community partners to do this impactful work. Together, we’re building a safer community.”

To learn more about the Shannon Community Safety Initiative, visit: https://shannoncsi.com/.

Officer Emmanuel Antonetty shares a smile as he plays cornhole with youth at the Lowell Police Department’s annual Youth Outreach Day, funded in part by the Shannon Community Safety Initiative. (Photo Courtesy Lowell Police Department)
Officer Christine Larocque holds a Lowell boy as she teaches him to float during the Lowell Police and Officer Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund Learn to Swim Program held each summer in Lowell. Funds from the Shannon Community Safety Initiative help support the learn to swim program. (Photo Courtesy Lowell Police Department)
Since 2022, dozens of Lowell youth have been able to ride horses at a local farms while building relationships with police officers thanks to financial support from the Shannon Community Safety Initiative. (Photo Courtesy Lowell Police Department)
Youth with the YWCA of Lowell’s Youth Leadership Group participate in a Massachusetts Department of Public Health event where youth showcased their vision of a School Based Health Center alongside other youth groups from across the state. The YWCA of Lowell provides youth development activities promoting leadership, healthy interpersonal peer and community relationships, and hosts events promoting violence prevention, community services, and healthy personal strategies with support from Shannon CSI funds. (Photo Courtesy YWCA of Lowell)
Youth stand at the Lowell Recreation Department’s table at the In the Acre event last June. The Lowell Recreation Department provides free programming to youth, aimed at getting kids off the street and involved in safe activities. The department also uses Shannon CSI funds to support providing jobs to low-income, at-risk youth. (Photo Courtesy Lowell Recreation Department)
The Lowell Police Gang Unit receives funding for overtime patrols from the Shannon Community Safety Initiative. From left are Officer Luis Morales, Officer Shawn Lefebvre, Sgt. Michael Bouvier, Officer Luke Zanoli, and Officer Matthew Trani. (Photo Courtesy Lowell Police Department)

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