Policy and Program Evaluation

We work with government agencies and community-based partners to rigorously evaluate gun violence intervention programs and criminal justice policy reforms.

 Across every project or partner, we work to generate high-quality research about the factors driving public safety trends and identify evidence-based interventions to save lives. Access to good and unbiased data is the common denominator for strong evaluation, which is why we pursue data-sharing agreements with public agencies and seek to make our own data publicly available whenever possible. We focus on policies and programs that are supporting the communities and individuals most impacted by gun violence and criminal justice system harms. 

From leading randomized controlled trials — the gold standard in research — to evaluating historical and real-time data, the Crime Lab uses a variety of methods to rigorously evaluate policies and interventions.  

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.”