Crime Lab New York

Unfortunately, long-term progress on reducing violent crime has been slow. Although the U.S. has dramatically reduced mortality rates from almost every other leading cause of death, homicide rates in America today are about the same as they were in 1950. One reason for this lack of long-term progress is that our policy approaches to reducing violence have been largely divorced from the profound benefits of systematic, scientific inquiry.

There is no shortage of innovation in this field, but there is a striking lack of evidence about what actually works, for whom, and why. Using randomized controlled trials, insights from behavioral economics, and predictive analytics that leverage the robust administrative data that cities already collect, Crime Lab New York partners with policymakers and practitioners to generate evidence about the strategies that reduce violence and do the most social good per dollar spent—including strategies that seek to prevent crime from happening in the first place, to make the criminal justice system more effective and fair, and to help policymakers better understand who benefits most from interventions and why. With this body of evidence, Crime Lab New York aims to help New York City design promising interventions and make investments that are cost-effective, targeted and scalable, to reduce crime and keep our most vulnerable communities safe.