Initiative for Effective US Crime Policy

Crime and public safety are among the most pressing concerns across communities in the United States. Violence fractures lives and carries staggering costs; the economic burden of gun violence alone tops $100 billion each year. More than 5 million people live under supervision through incarceration, probation, or parole, while countless more experience the collateral consequences of arrests and criminal charges. Achieving lasting public safety requires confronting both crime itself and the collateral consequences of the U.S. criminal justice system.

To help meet these dual challenges, J-PAL North America — a regional office of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) — with generous grant support from Arnold Ventures, launched the Initiative for Effective US Crime Policy (IECP). This initiative will generate rigorous evidence on strategies to make communities safer, reduce discrimination, and improve outcomes at every stage of the criminal justice process.

J-PAL North America’s Initiative for Effective US Crime Policy (IECP) supports randomized evaluations of strategies that foster a more effective and fair criminal legal system.

Through targeted Requests for Proposals (RFPs), IECP funds pilot studies and randomized evaluations on key issues, including crime prevention, effective policing strategies, adjudication processes, sentencing and sanctions, reintegration/reentry, and the role of social support programs in fostering public safety.

To ensure lasting impact, IECP collaborates with practitioners to understand their research priorities and connect them with researchers to rigorously test and refine promising strategies. Findings from these evaluations are synthesized into actionable recommendations, shaping critical policy discussions and driving meaningful improvements in safety and justice.