Criminal Justice Reform
We’re advancing long overdue reforms to reduce the harms of America’s broken criminal justice system.
In cities across America, communities face high rates of gun violence and significant harm caused by the criminal justice system, which disproportionately impacts people of color. For too long, the public sector has failed to address these overlapping and systemic crises, partly because policymakers view them as a trade-off. But to truly increase public safety, society must find solutions that advance justice and reduce gun violence simultaneously.
That’s why we’re working with public sector agencies to reform our criminal justice system by designing pretrial risk assessment tools, studying the effects of cash bail, and promoting treatment instead of incarceration for individuals arrested on non-violent substance use charges.
Our evaluation of the Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program found participants were 44% less likely to be re-arrested for drug possession and violent crime charges.
We worked with Luminosity and the NYC Criminal Justice Agency to design and implement New York City’s pre-trial risk assessment tool, helping low-risk defendants avoid jail time while they await trial and helping judges avoid releasing high-risk defendants.
Illinois Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) Facilities Mapping Project
To improve access to college education opportunities in prison, the Crime Lab partnered with the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) to produce interactive statewide maps to connect facilities with nearby postsecondary education providers.
New Jersey Portfolio
The Crime Lab is partnering with the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to help strengthen reforms to the state’s criminal justice system introduced in 2017, including eliminating cash bail and introducing a risk assessment tool to aid in pretrial release decisions.
Chicago Fire Department Technical Assistance
Crime Lab data analysts were embedded in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) division of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) to generate data dashboards and visualizations using data from patient care reports.
Targeted Interventions for High-Risk Domestic Violence Victims
The Crime Lab studied targeted approaches to identify high-risk domestic violence victims, conduct outreach, and provide resources to lower the risk of experiencing future harm.
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
The best way to cut gun violence, and it’s almost free
In an op-ed for Crain’s Chicago Business, Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig highlights the importance of using data-informed practices to improve public safety and shares key insights from behavioral economics that provide a playbook for addressing gun violence that is both effective and low-cost.
Research on cognitive behavioral therapy for at-risk youth
Dr. Nour Abdul-Razzak joins host Jennifer Doleac on the Probable Causation podcast to discuss the Choose to Change program—an intervention that integrates trauma-informed therapy with comprehensive support to reduce youth violence and improve educational outcomes.
Deaths of decision-making are killing American teens. Schools can fix it.
Crime Lab executive director Katie Hill pens an op-ed for Brookings about how cognitive behavioral programs can teach teens decision-making skills that can dramatically reduce violence and save lives – often at little or no additional cost.
