Jan 2013

Letter to Gun Violence Commission

Philip Cook Anthony Braga Jens Ludwig Jon Guryan Harold Pollack Patrick Sharkey

The Crime Lab and professors from institutions across the country sent a letter to then Vice President Biden and the Gun Violence Commission to provide two recommendations to increase federal dollars for gun violence research.

Related Resources
Webinar: Overview of the City of Chicago’s Violence Reduction Dashboard
Webinar

Webinar: Overview of the City of Chicago’s Violence Reduction Dashboard

Jun 2025

The Crime Lab hosted a webinar that explored the City of Chicago’s Violence Reduction Dashboard—a publicly available tool launched to support efforts to reduce gun violence through transparent, real-time data.

Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence
Other

Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence

Apr 2025

Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig authored a book that argues the lack of progress in reducing gun violence ultimately stems from our having misunderstood the nature of the problem, and that behavioral science gives us a new way to understand – and solve – gun violence in America.

Local Gun Violence Dashboards
Data Tool

Local Gun Violence Dashboards

Jan 2025

Chicago’s Violence Reduction Dashboard, launched by the Crime Lab in 2021, is featured in a toolkit created by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund as a part of its Gun Violence Data Fellowship.

Valuing the benefits of reducing firearm violence in the United States
Academic Paper

Valuing the benefits of reducing firearm violence in the United States

Jan 2025

This paper estimates the monetized value of the impact of reducing firearm violence and how that value is distributed across the population.

Latest Updates

Violent crime is falling in Chicago. But will it last?
Op-Ed
Crain's Chicago Business
Jul 2025

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
Op-Ed
The Washington Post
Jul 2025

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
Podcast
Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons
Jul 2025

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.