University of Chicago Crime Lab

What University of Chicago Crime Lab does

The University of Chicago Crime Lab is a non-profit research organization founded in 2008 within the University of Chicago that designs, tests, and scales data-driven innovations aimed at reducing gun violence and reforming the criminal justice system. It applies a methodological stack that includes randomized controlled trials (RCTs), policy and program evaluation, behavioral science, and machine learning, and operates a portfolio spanning executive education (the Community Safety Leadership Academies, which house the Policing Leadership Academy and the Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy), intervention programs (READI Chicago, Choose to Change, Becoming a Man, Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program, Situational Decision-Making), and public-facing data tools (the Violence Reduction Dashboard and the Officer Support System).

The Crime Lab serves government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels (notably the Chicago Police Department, the NYC Mayor's Office, and the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts), nonprofit implementation partners (Heartland Alliance, Youth Guidance, Brightpoint, Thresholds, Youth Advocate Programs), and a national network of police and community violence intervention leaders who attend its academies at no cost. It does not charge partners for research or evaluation services; instead, its operations are funded through peer-reviewed federal grants (NSF, NIJ, IES, NIH), philanthropic contributions (including Ken Griffin / Griffin Catalyst as a founding supporter of the academies), and an Investors' Council of civic and business leaders. Headquartered at 190 South LaSalle Street in Chicago with a New York office opened in 2015, the organization employs roughly 45 staff supported by more than 100 affiliated experts and has generated published outcome data ranging from a 22% reduction in uses of force after Sit-D training to a $4-per-$1-spent benefit ratio for READI Chicago.

Name

University of Chicago Crime Lab

Legal name

University of Chicago Crime Lab

Website

https://crimelab.uchicago.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The University of Chicago Crime Lab is a non-profit research organization that designs, tests, and scales data-driven interventions to reduce gun violence and reform criminal justice, serving government agencies, nonprofit implementation partners, and police and CVI leaders through free programs, executive academies, and rigorous RCT-based evaluations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Safety Research and Policy Evaluation

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Forensic Science & Crime Laboratories (Justice System Support) (BPAIAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Juvenile Justice System (Courts & Detention) (BPAIAFAF), Crime Prevention & Community Policing Programs (EDALAEAG), Juvenile Justice Education Programs (Detention & Correctional Education) (EDAJAEAB)

Keywords

• Crime research
• Gun violence prevention
• Criminal justice reform
• Behavioral science research
• Policy evaluation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago, Illinois

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Funding: The Crime Lab receives funding from philanthropy and individual donors who have no vested interest in the outcome of evaluations. They are not a fee-for-service organization and do not charge government or NGO partners for their research services.
2. Federal Government Grants: Receives peer-reviewed grants from federal sources including the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice, Institute for Education Sciences, and National Institutes of Health.
3. Seed Funding: Founded in 2008 with $100K in seed funding from the provost at the University of Chicago.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The University of Chicago Crime Lab is a non-profit research organization that designs, tests, and scales data-driven innovations to improve the public sector's response to gun violence and criminal justice challenges. It delivers rigorous program evaluations using randomized controlled trials, machine learning, and behavioral science; develops and disseminates intervention programs (e.g., READI Chicago, Becoming a Man, Choose to Change, Sit-D training, NADP); runs executive education academies for police and community violence intervention leaders; and produces public data tools such as the Violence Reduction Dashboard and the Officer Support System.

Product overview

University of Chicago Crime Lab operates as a research organization that designs, tests, and scales data-driven innovations to improve the public sector's response to gun violence and criminal justice challenges. The portfolio consists of two main components: (1) Community Safety Leadership Academies - executive education programs including the Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) and Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA) that train leaders in evidence-based violence reduction; and (2) Intervention and Evaluation Programs - including READI Chicago, Choose to Change, Becoming a Man, Situational Decision-Making (Sit-D), Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program, and Officer Support System that apply behavioral science and data analytics to reduce violence and improve public safety outcomes. The organization also provides public-facing data tools like the Violence Reduction Dashboard and research-based curricula such as ECHO. All programs are rigorously evaluated using methodologies including randomized controlled trials, machine learning, and policy evaluation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community Safety Leadership Academies (CSLA): Composed of the Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) and Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA), these programs develop leaders in policing and CVI from across the U.S.
• Policing Leadership Academy (PLA)
• CVI Leadership Academy (CVILA)

Products and services

• Community Safety Leadership Academies (CSLA) Executive education initiative combining the Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) and Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA) to train police and CVI leaders across the U.S. in data-driven management, evidence-based violence reduction strategies, and community trust building.
• Policing Leadership Academy (PLA) Five-month executive education program for rising police leaders (command-staff level 'middle managers') across the country's most violent neighborhoods, focused on management best practices, leveraging data and technology, and building community trust.
• Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA) National executive education program for senior community violence intervention leaders that strengthens leadership and management practices through an evidence-based curriculum, field experiences, and executive coaching to implement CVI strategies at scale.
• Violence Reduction Dashboard Publicly available visualization and analysis tool providing near-real-time data on gun violence in Chicago, created in partnership with the City of Chicago and dozens of community organizations.
• Choose to Change (C2C) Trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy and intensive mentoring program developed with Brightpoint and Youth Advocate Programs that combines therapy with wraparound supports to reduce youth violence and improve educational outcomes.
• Rapid Employment and Development Initiative (READI) Chicago Gun violence reduction initiative providing almost two years of intensive programming to men at the highest risk of shooting or being shot, delivered by Heartland Alliance.
• Becoming a Man (BAM) Youth Guidance's behavioral science-informed intervention that helps young men slow down their decision-making to reduce the likelihood of violence involvement.
• Situational Decision-Making (Sit-D) Behavioral science-informed police training created with the Chicago Police Department to help officers make faster and more accurate judgments when handling ambiguous, high-stakes situations.
• Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program (NADP) Police-led drug deflection program implemented by Thresholds that connects offenders to substance use treatment in lieu of a criminal record; described as the most extensive such program in the U.S.
• Officer Support System (OSS) Next-generation, data-driven early intervention system developed with the Chicago Police Department to promote officers' long-term mental health and wellness, using over a decade of CPD data to predict risk of misconduct.
• Every Choice Has Opportunity (ECHO) Free, open-source curriculum that helps service providers guide young people to make better decisions using tools informed by research and practice on cognitive behavioral interventions.
• Strategic Decision Support Centers Violence reduction initiative that helped address a 60% surge in murders in Chicago in 2016 through data-driven decision support.
• New York City Release Assessment Updated and equitable pretrial release assessment tool for NYC to help judges reduce pretrial incarceration by identifying low-risk defendants who can be released without bail.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22% fewer uses of force among officers who completed Sit-D training
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chicago Police DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary government partner for multiple initiatives including Situational Decision-Making (Sit-D) training, Officer Support System, Violence Reduction Dashboard, Strategic Decision Support Centers, and Workforce Allocation Analysis. Data-sharing agreement enables near real-time crime data analysis.
• Heartland AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partner for READI Chicago, a gun violence reduction initiative providing two years of intensive programming to men at highest risk of gun violence involvement.
• Youth GuidancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partner for Becoming a Man (BAM) program, a behavioral science-informed intervention helping young men slow down decision-making to reduce violence involvement.
• Brightpoint and Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partners for Choose to Change (C2C) program, combining trauma-informed therapy with wraparound supports to reduce youth violence and improve educational outcomes.
• ThresholdscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partner for the Narcotics Arrest Diversion Program (NADP), the most extensive police-led drug diversion program in the United States, connecting offenders to substance use treatment.
• NYC Mayor's OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvited Crime Lab to open New York office in 2015. Partnership on pretrial release assessment tool updates and criminal justice reform initiatives.
• New Jersey Administrative Office of the CourtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to leverage data from pretrial risk assessment tool to help judges reserve pretrial detention for highest-risk defendants, providing a model for other jurisdictions.
• The Second CityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with The Second City brings improv training to Policing Leadership Academy participants, focusing on skills like communicating effectively, navigating uncertain situations, and exercising collaboration, curiosity, and creativity. Featured in Associated Press and Fast Company coverage.
• J-PAL North AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrime Lab is part of the larger evidence-based policy movement that includes J-PAL at MIT and other academic research centers. Collaborates on shared mission of using rigorous research for social good.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bipartisan Policy Center: Public policy think tank producing analysis across multiple domains including criminal justice and public safety. Comparable in producing rigorous policy research with government partners, though operates across a much broader portfolio.
• Pew Charitable Trusts: Non-profit organization conducting research and policy analysis on issues including public safety and criminal justice. Comparable in using evidence-based research to inform state and local policy, with significant overlap in target end-users.
• RAND Corporation: Large, established non-profit policy research institution producing rigorous analysis across public safety, criminal justice, and social policy. Comparable in academic rigor and policy influence, though far broader in scope and much larger in scale than Crime Lab.

Emerging players

• Arnold Ventures: Philanthropy-focused organization that funds and conducts research on criminal justice, public safety, and other policy areas. Comparable as a major funder and translator of criminal justice research, though primarily a grantmaker rather than direct researcher.

Direct peers

• Urban Institute: Non-profit research organization providing evidence on social and economic issues affecting low- and middle-income Americans, including significant work on criminal justice reform. Comparable mission, funding mix (foundation + federal grants), and policy-research delivery model.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent, non-partisan research organization affiliated with the University of Chicago that conducts rigorous social science research and program evaluations. Closely comparable in mission, university affiliation, and methodology to Crime Lab.
• Council on Criminal Justice: Non-partisan criminal justice policy and research organization focused on reducing crime and incarceration through evidence-based reform. Closely comparable in mission, focus on criminal justice, and emphasis on translating rigorous research into practice.
• MDRC: Non-profit social policy research organization focused on evaluating programs serving low-income populations, including criminal justice and youth interventions. Directly comparable in using RCTs and quasi-experiments to test social programs with government and NGO partners.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Non-profit policy and research organization working to build and improve justice systems through research, programs, and policy reform. Directly comparable as a research-driven criminal justice reform organization partnering with government agencies to scale evidence-based programs.
• J-PAL North America: MIT-based evidence-based policy research arm conducting randomized evaluations of social programs. J-PAL North America is explicitly cited by Crime Lab as a peer organization within the same evidence-based policy movement and shares its RCT-driven, non-profit research model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLbdLniPJ6F-7j1S0Q_MHn7jVCxQDPqHWq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uchicagocrimelab

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Chicago Crime Lab