Jan 2017
Gun Violence in Chicago, 2016
The Crime Lab studied the spike in murders in 2016.
A total of 764 people were murdered in Chicago in 2016. They were sons, brothers, and fathers; sisters, daughters, and mothers; they were, as the title of The New York Times reporter Fox Butterfield’s book on urban violence noted, All God’s Children. This report represents a first step towards understanding what happened with the goal of helping the city of Chicago prevent another year like the one that just passed.
We draw on data obtained from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and other sources to provide a more complete picture of the change in our city’s crime problem in 2016. Our analysis highlights a number of key facts that are important for understanding what happened, but also raises some new puzzles as well. While this report focuses on establishing basic facts and avoids delving too deeply into solutions, we will continue to partner with policymakers, the civic community, and local nonprofits to identify promising approaches for moving forward. We plan to share our thinking about how to reduce violence in Chicago, informed by the best available data and research, in other venues in the future.
Supporting Student Re-Engagement: A Qualitative Exploration of the First Year Implementation of Back to Our Future
This report shares findings on the implementation of Back to Our Future, a state-funded, district-led, evidence-informed effort to re-engage disconnected students at an elevated risk for gun violence involvement.
B2OF Policy Brief: Supporting Youth Safety and Education Re-Engagement
This policy brief outlines the first year of implementation of Back to Our Future (B2OF), a state-funded, district-led, evidence-informed effort to re-engage disconnected students at an elevated risk for gun violence involvement.
Does Administrative Burden Deter Young People? Evidence from Summer Jobs Programs
This research paper examines the impact of administrative burden on the effectiveness of public social programs for young people, specifically summer jobs programs.
When Scale and Replication Work: Learning from Summer Youth Employment Experiments
This research paper addresses the challenges of scaling up and replicating successful human capital interventions due to two key sources of variability: differences in the treatment itself and changes in the target population.
Latest Updates
More spending won’t be enough to reduce Chicago’s gun violence
Read Crime Lab Faculty Director Jens Ludwig’s latest op-ed arguing that to reduce violence, we should leverage data science to figure out how to get more social good out of what the city is already spending on evidence-based strategies such as community violence intervention programs.
Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons: Can police misconduct be stopped before it starts?
Crime Lab Senior Research Director Greg Stoddard joins Patrick Smith on WBEZ Reset to discuss results from a new study of an algorithm that can help identify which officers are likely to commit misconduct.
U. of C. study shows cops at high risk of misconduct also at elevated risk for off-duty trouble
The Chicago Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky speaks with Crime Lab Senior Research Director Greg Stoddard to discuss results from a new study of an officer support system.