Jun 2021
How the Pandemic is Accelerating Carjackings in Chicago
In 2020, Chicago saw more carjackings than in the previous two years combined. In our June Data Points column in the Chicago Tribune, we explore what is behind the recent surge. One much discussed (and debated) argument is that young people, teens particularly, are driving the increase. Taken together, evidence from carjacking arrest data, victim estimates of suspect age, clearance rates, and arrest trends in other cities indicate that increased youth involvement is driving the uptick in carjackings. This growing youth involvement suggests that the pandemic may be contributing to the rise in carjackings but not as a result of what many in the public might have assumed — economic dislocation. We see in the data, for example, that youth involved in carjacking are more likely to live in areas with lower internet access and school attendance, especially during the pandemic. We also show that Chicago is currently missing many potential contact points with these youth that could be used to, for instance, connect them to social services at a time when they need them most.
In any data analysis, there are many detailed decisions to make due to uncertainties or intrinsic limitations to the data themselves, as well as reasonable alternative choices about how to analyze and present the results. Because of limited space in the Datapoints column, we have omitted many of those details and sensitivity analyses from the published version. We provide those additional details here.

Policing Leadership Academy Advisory and Research Committees
View the members of the PLA’s advisory and research committees.

Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) Overview
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
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
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.
Latest Updates
Violent crime is falling in Chicago. But will it last?
Greg Hinz for Crain’s Chicago Business provides commentary on the city of Chicago’s declining violent crime rates and highlights Crime Lab analysis of homicide data for New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago from 1890-present.

Opinion: The good news about murder
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, E.J. Dionne Jr. highlights recent declines in homicides and shootings in the U.S. and discusses this return to pre-pandemic crime levels with Crime Lab leaders Roseanna Ander, Jens Ludwig, CVI Leadership Academy Executive Director Chico Tillmon, and former Los Angeles police chief and advisor to the Policing Leadership Academy Charlie Beck.

How Chicagoans are working to lower homicide, shooting numbers
Crime Lab Executive Director Katie Hill joined WBEZ Chicago’s Reset podcast with Sasha-Ann Simons to discuss strategies for maintaining the recent downward trends in shootings and homicides as local violence prevention groups navigate federal funding cuts to research-backed CVI programs.
