Mar 2021

NBER Working Paper: Body-Worn Cameras in Policing: Benefits and Costs

Jens Ludwig

This working paper dives into what we know about the benefits of body worn cameras and how those benefits compare to the costs of this new technology.

Related Resources
Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) Overview
Handout

Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) Overview

May 2025

Read an overview of the Policing Leadership Academy (PLA), a first of-its-kind program launched in May 2023 to train America’s policing leaders working in some of our most violent neighborhoods.

Video: Creating Safer Communities by Improving Policing
Video

Video: Creating Safer Communities by Improving Policing

Jan 2025

Griffin Catalyst highlights the Policing Leadership Academy, a new national leadership program that brings together rising police leaders from around the country for five months of advanced, intensive training in management best practices, leveraging data and technology and building community trust—all with the ultimate goal of creating safer, more vibrant communities.

Policing Leadership Academy Graduation Interviews
Video

Policing Leadership Academy Graduation Interviews

May 2024

Hear from a select group of PLA graduates on their experience with the academy.

NBER Working Paper: Predicting Police Misconduct
Academic Paper

NBER Working Paper: Predicting Police Misconduct

May 2024

This paper outlines the results of research on over a decade of Chicago Police Department data that shows it is possible to predict risk of on-duty and off-duty misconduct, allowing police departments to prioritize training and supportive resources.

Latest Updates

How Treating Teens’ Trauma Is Stopping Violence in Chicago
Podcast
Tradeoffs
Jun 2025

How Treating Teens’ Trauma Is Stopping Violence in Chicago

The Tradeoffs Podcast highlights the Crime Lab’s study of Choose to Change, a program that pairs cognitive behavioral therapy with wraparound supports to engage young people who are increasingly disconnected from school and often exposed to high levels of trauma – with the goal of keeping them safe and helping them thrive.

Major Public Safety Associations Participate in Congressional Briefing on Law Enforcement Training Priorities During National Police Week
Web Post
Brooks Bawden Moore Blog
Jun 2025

Major Public Safety Associations Participate in Congressional Briefing on Law Enforcement Training Priorities During National Police Week

Alumni of the Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) participated in a bipartisan briefing as part of National Police Week, focusing on key law enforcement training priorities.

Book Review: What We Get Wrong About Violent Crime
Media Mention
The New Yorker
Jun 2025

Book Review: What We Get Wrong About Violent Crime

Malcolm Gladwell pens a review of “Unforgiving Places,” a new book by Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig, that reflects on how the book “challenges our assumptions about why most shootings happen—and what really makes a city safe.”