Max Kapustin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University. He studies interventions to improve the life outcomes of disadvantaged youth and adults, particularly ways to reduce their exposure to gun violence. Using large-scale experiments and other methods, his work measures the causal effects of efforts such as cognitive behavioral therapy and employment for men at high risk of gun violence, mentorship for youth disengaged from school, and data-driven management changes within police departments. Prior to Cornell, he was a Senior Research Director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Education Lab from 2016-2020, where he remains an affiliate.
Predicting and Preventing Gun Violence: An Experimental Evaluation of READI Chicago – Final Paper
Learn more about the technical details of the READI study.
Machine Learning Can Predict Shooting Victimization Well Enough To Help Prevent It
This National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper shows that shootings are predictable enough to be preventable.
Getting More Out of Policing in the US
Policing and Management
This National Bureau of Economic Research working paper provides an exploration into how management quality can significantly influence the productivity and effectiveness of policing.
Service Provision Risk Assessment (SPRA)
The Crime Lab designed the Service Provision Risk Assessment to help violence prevention organizations identify the people at the highest risk of future gun violence involvement and offer them intensive social services and supports.
Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSCs)
The Crime Lab and the City of Chicago joined forces to implement data-driven management strategies that address gun violence in some of the city’s most heavily affected communities.
Rapid Employment and Development Initiative (READI) Chicago
READI Chicago is a gun violence reduction initiative that provides almost two years of intensive programming to men at the highest risk of shooting or being shot.
The Dovetail Project
Researchers at the Crime Lab, the University of California Berkeley, and Cornell University evaluated The Dovetail Project, a program that offers parenting supports for young fathers on Chicago’s South and West sides.
Latest Updates
Do the Police Have a Management Problem?
Crime Lab Pritzker Director Dr. Jens Ludwig was featured on the latest Freakonomics Radio episode with Policing Leadership Academy participants and leaders. In this episode, Jens and Freakonomics Radio host Stephen J. Dubner discussed our Policing Leadership Academy and the importance of professionalizing police leadership to effectively reduce gun violence.
