May 2014
Tracing the Guns- The impact of illegal guns on violence in Chicago
In 2014, the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the City of Chicago published the first report to understand the origins of illegal crime guns. The report was also updated in 2017.
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: 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.
Policing Leadership Academy Graduation Interviews
Hear from a select group of PLA graduates on their experience with the academy.
NBER Working Paper: Predicting Police Misconduct
This paper outlines the results of research on over a decade of Chicago Police Department data that shows it is possible to predict risk of on-duty and off-duty misconduct, allowing police departments to prioritize training and supportive resources.
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.
