Sep 2023
Measuring the Impact of Choose to Change and the Strategic Decision Support Centers
This infographic showcases the results from the Crime Lab’s evaluation of the Choose to Change program and the Strategic Decision Support Centers.

Transforming Criminal Justice Responses to Substance Use: Impacts on Crime, Housing, and Health Outcomes
This paper evaluates the impact of diverting individuals who possess drugs away from arrest and into substance use treatment in Chicago between 2010-2022.

Agent-Based Model of Combined Community- and Jail-Based Take-Home Naloxone Distribution
This paper outlines the impact and cost-effectiveness of naloxone distribution, particularly for people facing criminal justice involvement.

Empirical Analysis of Prediction Mistakes in New York City Pretrial Data

Brookings Institution Commentary: Making the invisible epidemic visible
Using new data from a large urban trauma center in Chicago, we document substantial under-reporting of domestic violence at the time of receiving medical care.
Latest Updates
We’ve Been Thinking About Gun Violence All Wrong
Jens Ludwig, Crime Lab Pritzker Director and author of “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence,” pens an op-ed for TIME Magazine arguing that the root cause of gun violence is not what we think it is — rather than a deliberate, rational act, most shootings start with arguments that escalate and end in tragedy because someone has a gun.

The Indicator from Planet Money: What we misunderstand about gun violence
Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig joins NPR’s The Indicator from Planet Money podcast to discuss why he believes many of us fundamentally misunderstand the problem of gun violence and how behavioral economics reveals some potential solutions.

Rethinking Gun Violence
Vital City sat down with Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig to discuss his new book, Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence,” which shows how changing individual behavior is possible — and that these changes can result in declines in gun violence.
