Dec 2019

Chicago Pro Sports Franchises Combat Urban Violence by Teaming Up with the University of Chicago Crime Lab

Below is a collection of videos showcasing the various initiatives supported by the Chicago Sports Alliance, which is dedicated to reducing violence within the City of Chicago.

Watch this video on the 2019 announcement

 

See videos on past announcements below.

 

Watch this video on the Chicago Sports Alliance’s 2017 announcement.
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: Reducing Violence and Improving Policing
Video

Video: Reducing Violence and Improving Policing

Feb 2025

This video offers a glimpse into the Policing Leadership Academy, a violence reduction initiative designed to prevent violent crime, support officers, and improve fairness and effectiveness in policing throughout some of the country’s 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.

Latest Updates

Deaths of decision-making are killing American teens. Schools can fix it.
Op-Ed
Brookings
Jul 2025

Deaths of decision-making are killing American teens. Schools can fix it.

Crime Lab executive director Katie Hill pens an op-ed for Brookings about how cognitive behavioral programs can teach teens decision-making skills that can dramatically reduce violence and save lives – often at little or no additional cost.

Kelly Leonard: How improv can help police do their job
Media Mention
WGN Radio 720
Mar 2025

Kelly Leonard: How improv can help police do their job

Kelly Leonard joins WGN’s John Williams to discuss The Second City’s partnership with the Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy that’s using improv to help officers improve their communication skills.

Novel approaches can chip away at gun violence, and make a big difference
Op-Ed
Chicago Sun Times
Apr 2025

Novel approaches can chip away at gun violence, and make a big difference

In an op-ed for the Chicago Sun-Times, Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig argues that when it comes to gun violence, we’ve been focused on the wrong solutions – a key insight from his new book, “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence.”