Jan 2021

Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Street Lighting in New York City

Lucie Parker

This paper offers novel experimental evidence that violent crimes can be successfully reduced by changing the situational environment that potential victims and offenders face. We focus on a ubiquitous but understudied feature of the urban landscape—street lighting—and report the first experimental evidence on the effect of street lighting on crime.

Read the paper here.

Related Resources
Economic Club of Chicago- Chicago’s Safety Snapshot: Issues and Opportunities
Presentation

Economic Club of Chicago- Chicago’s Safety Snapshot: Issues and Opportunities

Sep 2023

These slides were presented by the Crime Lab at a forum hosted by the Economic Club and Commercial Club of Chicago.

Violence Reduction Dashboard
Dashboard

Violence Reduction Dashboard

Jul 2023
Webinar: Overview of the City of Chicago’s Violence Reduction Dashboard
Video

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

Jul 2023

Launched in May 2021 by the City of Chicago, with design and technical support from the Crime Lab, the Dashboard is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive tool that allows unfettered public access to city violence trends categorizable by victim type, date, and geographic area.

Machine Learning Can Predict Shooting Victimization Well Enough To Help Prevent It
Academic Paper

Machine Learning Can Predict Shooting Victimization Well Enough To Help Prevent It

May 2023

This National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper shows that shootings are predictable enough to be preventable.

Latest Updates

Unraveling the Threads of America’s Gun Culture
Op-Ed
Nov 2023

Unraveling the Threads of America’s Gun Culture

Megan Kang, a Crime Lab affiliate and Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Princeton University, outlines new historical evidence that charts the growth in firearm ownership.

Chicago nonprofits gather to discuss progress, solutions for gun violence
Media Mention
CBS Chicago
Nov 2023

Chicago nonprofits gather to discuss progress, solutions for gun violence

CBS Chicago’s Darius Johnson speaks with the Crime Lab’s Kim Smith and Dar’tavous Dorsey about the goals of the event, which hosted nearly 50 nonprofits from every corner of Chicago for its first gun violence prevention expo.

Strides for Peace to debut Gun Violence Prevention Expo
Media Mention
Chicago Star Media
Nov 2023

Strides for Peace to debut Gun Violence Prevention Expo

Strides for Peace hosted a new expo focusing on gun violence prevention in Chicago, featuring an information session from the Crime Lab’s Chico Tillmon.