Rigorous evaluation of crime reduction programs applying published University of Chicago Crime Lab methodologies to public crime, health, and economic data.
Trellison Institute applies evaluation methodologies published by the University of Chicago Crime Lab (founded by Jens Ludwig and Harold Pollack). Trellison Institute has not contacted the Crime Lab and does not claim endorsement or affiliation. We apply their published frameworks because they represent the gold standard for rigorous, randomized evaluation of crime reduction programs. We support researchers applying these methods. Negative results are results.
The University of Chicago Crime Lab pioneered the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for evaluating crime reduction interventions. Their published work on gun violence, predictive analytics for social services, cognitive behavioral therapy programs (including READI Chicago and Becoming a Man), and police body-worn cameras has set the methodological standard for evidence-based criminal justice research.
Trellison applies their published evaluation frameworks to publicly available crime, public health, and economic data. We provide the analytical infrastructure for researchers who want to conduct Crime Lab-style rigorous evaluation at the community level — especially in cities and jurisdictions that lack dedicated research partnerships.
See also: Criminal Justice Research Support — our broader criminal justice data service applying Vera Institute, Sentencing Project, and BJS frameworks.
READI Chicago — Rapid Employment and Development Initiative. Published RCT showing significant reductions in shooting and homicide involvement among highest-risk individuals. Combines transitional jobs, cognitive behavioral therapy, and support services.
Becoming a Man (BAM) — In-school cognitive behavioral intervention. Published results show 50% reduction in violent crime arrests among participants. One of the most rigorously evaluated youth violence programs in the country.
One Summer Chicago Plus — Summer jobs program evaluation. Published results show 43% reduction in violence among participants over 16 months. Demonstrates the causal link between employment opportunity and violence reduction.
Body-Worn Camera RCT — DC Metropolitan Police evaluation. Randomized assignment of 2,224 officers. Published null result: no statistically significant effect on use of force or civilian complaints. Negative results are results.
Effect sizes and confidence intervals from these published studies serve as benchmarks for our evaluation tools. Researchers can compare their local program evaluations against Crime Lab benchmarks using standardized outcome measures.
Violence intervention evaluation — structured data pipelines for evaluating community violence intervention programs using Crime Lab-style RCT methodology, including pre-registration templates.
Predictive model validation — tools for testing and validating predictive models for social service targeting, with fairness audits and bias detection built in.
Cross-city comparison — standardized crime data pipelines for comparing intervention outcomes across cities, controlling for population, demographics, and baseline crime rates.
Cost-benefit analysis — frameworks for calculating the economic value of crime reduction programs, including avoided incarceration costs, healthcare savings, and productivity gains.
This service is free for criminology researchers, public health scholars, and community organizations whose methodology passes Trellison's evaluation criteria. We provide the data infrastructure and evaluation frameworks. Researchers provide the expertise and the local context. We do not advocate for specific interventions — we measure what works and what does not.
If you are a researcher studying gun violence interventions, community safety programs, or evidence-based policing, request access to our evaluation data pipeline.
Request Access →The DaedArch Ecosystem