About the Talk

Blueprints for Safety: Engaged Science and the Story of Collaborative Gun Violence Prevention in Chicago

In 2017, a collective of gun violence prevention organizations in Chicago came together not simply to develop more "programs," but to draft plans for a broader civilianized approach to public safety that centered community violence intervention (CVI) efforts. Drawing on observational, interview, survey, and even quasi-experimental data collected through an engaged research partnership, this talk will discuss the lessons learned over the last five years about program effectiveness and about the deep and powerful nature of CVI work and its potential for changing the future of public safety.

About the Speaker

Andrew V. Papachristos is the John G. Searle Professor of Sociology, Director at the Institute for Policy Research and the founder, and Faculty Director of The Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science (CORNERS) at Northwestern University. His research aims to understand how the connected nature of cities — how their citizens, neighborhoods, and institutions are tied to one another — affect what we feel, think, and do. His main area of research applies network science to the study of gun violence, police misconduct, illegal gun markets, street gangs, and urban neighborhoods. He has more than 15 years of experience working in the area of engaged research, having partnered with community groups, state and local criminal justice agencies, schools, hospitals, and government agencies.

This series is supported by funding from the Institute of Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP) at Columbia University.