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Harold Pollack, Co-Director

Harold Pollack, Co-Director. The University of Chicago Crime Lab. Founded in 2008 to partner with Chicago and other jurisdictions to carry out randomized experiments to learn more about how to reduce crime & related social problems

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Harold Pollack, Co-Director

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  1. Harold Pollack, Co-Director

  2. The University of Chicago Crime Lab • Founded in 2008 to partner with Chicago and other jurisdictions to carry out randomized experiments to learn more about how to reduce crime & related social problems • Goal is to create evolving portfolio of experiments to learn more about mechanisms & most cost-effective interventions • Nearly 30 affiliate researchers at top tier universities from around the United States • Dozens of projects in partnership with government agencies and non-profits across the country • Design/evaluate programs that can be feasibly and economically implemented at-scale to address crime-related problems.

  3. The University of Chicago Crime Lab • “Successful innovation requires learning from experience” • Crime Lab seeks to provide scientific evidence about what works and what is cost-effective in preventing crime and violence • An established network of over 25 of the nation’s leading crime policy researchers and academics to collaborate on a variety of projects • Provides pro bono technical assistance and rigorous evaluations of crime reduction strategies to policing and other governmental agencies nationwide • Dissemination of relevant findings to ensure best practices are implemented to generate the most social good of every dollar spent • Benefit-Cost Analysis of interventions to provide a framework for comparison of the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various programs and policies • Progress in addressing the problem of crime and violence is extremely difficult without learning from experience – about what programs work, for whom, why, and how they can be improved

  4. The challenge: How can we improve life outcomes for disadvantaged youth? • High school graduation rate in 50 largest urban school districts just 50% (Swanson, 2009) • 70% of black male high school dropouts will spend time in prison by mid-30s (Western and Pettit, 2010) • Homicide leading cause of death for blacks 15-24 (more than 9 other leading causes of death combined) • Nearly 600 CPS students were shot September 2008-April 2010

  5. Disproportionate Effect on Youth Crime is disproportionately affecting youth, both in terms of crimes committed and as victims of violent crimes

  6. Limited Progress • There has been dramatic progress in reducing mortality from other major leading causes, but not homicide • It’s no coincidence that the fields experiencing such dramatic progress recognize the importance of scientific evidence in decision-making Until we understand what strategies are effective and cost effective in reducing crime, little progress will continue to be made

  7. University of Chicago Crime Lab: Goals • Improve violence prevention efforts by providing clear scientific results to help prevent youth gun violence • Partner with government agencies and community groups in Chicago and around the U.S. to evaluate promising intervention strategies • Allocate scare resources to the most cost-effective policies and programs

  8. Next Steps Our goals are similar to the MIT Poverty Action Lab, a leader in utilizing experiments to improve life in developing countries We are currently working towards maintaining a portfolio of projects, many of which are in the development and fundraising stages These projects focus on: • Helping youth deal more safely and productively with others. • Promoting school attendance/preventing truancy • The effect that increased policing has on crime • Mental health and substance abuse treatment for disadvantaged families

  9. The University of Chicago Crime Lab “Successful innovation requires learning from experience” • The University of Chicago Crime Lab seeks to provide scientific evidence about what works and what is cost-effective in preventing crime and violence • An established network of over 25 of the nation’s leading crime policy researchers and academics to collaborate on a variety of projects • Provides pro bono technical assistance and rigorous evaluations of crime reduction strategies to policing and other governmental agencies nationwide • Dissemination of relevant findings to ensure best practices are implemented to generate the most social good of every dollar spent • Benefit-Cost Analysis of interventions to provide a framework for comparison of the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various programs and policies • Progress in addressing the problem of crime and violence is extremely difficult without learning from experience – about what programs work, for whom, why, and how they can be improved

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