Youth Violence
Gun violence is the leading cause of death for young people in America. But youth violence interventions can help keep kids safe and reach those who are the hardest to reach.
America’s gun violence problem is having an outsized impact on the most vulnerable members of our society — our kids. Fundamental disparities in public safety mean that children and young people live in communities that are disproportionately exposed to violence. Consistent exposure to gun violence has detrimental effects on mental health, emotional development, and academic engagement. For example, our research suggests that 38% of school-aged girls in Chicago public high schools citywide exhibit signs of PTSD — double the probability of PTSD in service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Undoing decades of disinvestment won’t happen overnight, but we need to find ways to keep kids safe and reach those who are hardest to reach.
The Crime Lab partners with local schools, community violence intervention programs, and criminal justice agencies to connect young people with behavioral and mental health supports to help them navigate difficult situations, boost academic involvement, and reduce violence involvement.
Choose to Change, a program focused on gang-involved youth, found participants had 48% fewer violent crime arrests.
Our evaluation of Becoming a Man found the program helped cut violent-crime arrests in half and boost high school graduation rates by nearly 20%.
Back to Our Future (B2OF)
Back to Our Future (B2OF) is a state-funded, district-led, evidence-informed effort to re-engage disconnected students at an elevated risk for gun violence involvement.
Read the new policy brief.
Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) Technical Assistance
The Crime Lab has provided technical assistance to Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services and its service providers to aid in their efforts to more strategically direct their prevention and intervention services to those individuals most in need.
Youth Advocate Programs
The Crime Lab and Education Lab, in partnership with Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP), conducted a randomized controlled trial of YAP’s wraparound advocacy services to evaluate the program’s impact on youth academic outcomes and violence engagement outcomes.
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.
Improving Programming in Juvenile Detention: The Impact of Project Safe Neighborhoods Youth Outreach Forums
This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial of a youth outreach forums program run in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center (JTDC) by the Northern Illinois Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force.
Supporting Student Re-Engagement: A Qualitative Exploration of the First Year Implementation of Back to Our Future
This report shares findings on the implementation of Back to Our Future, a state-funded, district-led, evidence-informed effort to re-engage disconnected students at an elevated risk for gun violence involvement.
B2OF Policy Brief: Supporting Youth Safety and Education Re-Engagement
This policy brief outlines the first year of implementation of Back to Our Future (B2OF), a state-funded, district-led, evidence-informed effort to re-engage disconnected students at an elevated risk for gun violence involvement.
Does Administrative Burden Deter Young People? Evidence from Summer Jobs Programs
This research paper examines the impact of administrative burden on the effectiveness of public social programs for young people, specifically summer jobs programs.
Latest Updates
Addressing Data Challenges to Prevent Domestic Homicide
Stephanie Drescher is the Operations Captain, Executive Section at the Madison (WI) Police Department and a graduate of the 2023 inaugural cohort of the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy (PLA). Our Crime Lab team spoke with Captain Drescher to learn how her experience in the PLA has shaped her work at her home department.
Improving the quality of life in downtown Knoxville
Captain Sammy Shaffer is the Commanding Officer of the recently created Central District in the Knoxville Police Department and a graduate of the 2023 inaugural cohort of The University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy (PLA). Our Crime Lab team chatted with Captain Shaffer earlier this year to hear more about how his experience with the PLA has shaped his work at his home department.
Chicago CEOs Raise $100 Million to Fight Crime After Bloody Days
Bloomberg’s Isis Almeida and Miranda Davis cite Crime Lab analysis of data on shootings in Chicago during the summer months, which account for more than one-third of the city’s shootings every year.
