Harold Pollack, Co-Director

• Founded in 2008 to partner with Chicago and other jurisdictions to carry out randomized experiments to learn more about how to reduce crime & related social problems

• Goal is to create evolving portfolio of experiments to learn more about mechanisms & most cost-effective interventions

• Nearly 30 affiliate researchers at top tier universities from around the United States

• Dozens of projects in partnership with government agencies and non-profits across the country

• Design/evaluate programs that can be feasibly and economically implemented at-scale to address crime-related problems.

The University of Chicago Crime Lab

• “Successful innovation requires learning from experience”• Crime Lab seeks to provide scientific evidence about what works and

what is cost-effective in preventing crime and violence• An established network of over 25 of the nation’s leading crime policy

researchers and academics to collaborate on a variety of projects• Provides pro bono technical assistance and rigorous evaluations of

crime reduction strategies to policing and other governmental agencies nationwide

• Dissemination of relevant findings to ensure best practices are implemented to generate the most social good of every dollar spent

• Benefit-Cost Analysis of interventions to provide a framework for comparison of the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various programs and policies

• Progress in addressing the problem of crime and violence is extremely difficult without learning from experience – about what programs work, for whom, why, and how they can be improved

The University of Chicago Crime Lab

The challenge: How can we improve life outcomes for disadvantaged youth?

• High school graduation rate in 50 largest urban school districts just 50% (Swanson, 2009)

• 70% of black male high school dropouts will spend time in prison by mid-30s (Western and Pettit, 2010)

• Homicide leading cause of death for blacks 15-24 (more than 9 other leading causes of death combined)– Nearly 600 CPS students were shot September 2008-April 2010

Disproportionate Effect on YouthCrime is disproportionately affecting youth, both in terms of crimes

committed and as victims of violent crimes

Under 10

11-15

16-20

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65+0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

Percent of Crime Committed by Age Group, 2009

Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter

Violent crime

Property crime

Under 10

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65+0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Number of Homicides in the United States, 2007

Homicide, total

Homicide, firearm

• There has been dramatic progress in reducing mortality from other major leading causes, but not homicide

• It’s no coincidence that the fields experiencing such dramatic progress recognize the importance of scientific evidence in decision-making

Until we understand what strategies are effective and cost effective in reducing crime, little progress will continue to be made

Limited Progress

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005

Mortality Rate by Cause of Death

Infant mortality (x10) Heart disease Cerebrovascular Homicide (x30)

University of Chicago Crime Lab: Goals

• Improve violence prevention efforts by providing clear scientific results to help prevent youth gun violence

• Partner with government agencies and community groups in Chicago and around the U.S. to evaluate promising intervention strategies

• Allocate scare resources to the most cost-effective policies and programs

Next Steps

Our goals are similar to the MIT Poverty Action Lab, a leader in utilizing experiments to improve life in developing countries

We are currently working towards maintaining a portfolio of projects, many of which are in the development and fundraising stages

These projects focus on:

•Helping youth deal more safely and productively with others. • Promoting school attendance/preventing truancy• The effect that increased policing has on crime• Mental health and substance abuse treatment for disadvantaged families

The University of Chicago Crime Lab

“Successful innovation requires learning from experience”• The University of Chicago Crime Lab seeks to provide scientific evidence

about what works and what is cost-effective in preventing crime and violence– An established network of over 25 of the nation’s leading crime policy researchers

and academics to collaborate on a variety of projects– Provides pro bono technical assistance and rigorous evaluations of crime reduction

strategies to policing and other governmental agencies nationwide– Dissemination of relevant findings to ensure best practices are implemented to

generate the most social good of every dollar spent– Benefit-Cost Analysis of interventions to provide a framework for comparison of the

relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various programs and policies

• Progress in addressing the problem of crime and violence is extremely difficult without learning from experience – about what programs work, for whom, why, and how they can be improved