Violence Reduction Assessment Tool (VRAT)

The Violence Reduction Assessment Tool (VRAT) is a planning and support instrument that allows communities to assess their capacity for effective implementation and to identify concrete action steps to increase their capacity to adopt evidence-based practices.

The VRAT has been developed by Michigan State University (MSU) under a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Initially designed for Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) programs working to reduce violence, the VRAT has been shown to be a useful resource for abroad range of Innovations Suite Justice programs for strategic planning purposes in support of effective implementation.

Individual feedback and potentially team feedback will be provided upon completion of the VRAT. In order to develop a valid assessment and to maintain confidentiality of the information submitted in the VRAT, we require at least four members of your team to participate (as many members of your team are welcome to participate) to receive a team assessment. We strongly recommend that the participants represent the various sectors of your team—law enforcement, prosecution, other criminal justice partners, social services, community, research partner, and other stakeholders as appropriate for your initiative.

To complete the VRAT, please have your team members register at the following web-link: https://vrat.psnmsu.com/

The assessment takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

The VRAT feedback may provide insight into your team’s accomplishments as well as information that may support sustainability and better equip your jurisdiction to pursue future sources of funding.

If you have questions or issues with the VRAT, please contact:

Heather Perez
Project Safe Neighborhoods Technical Assistance Coordinator
Michigan State University
perezh@msu.edu