Policy Insights in Crime, Violence, and Conflict
J-PAL’s Crime, Violence, and Conflict sector focuses on promoting safe communities and designing effective policies to manage and reduce violence and conflict. The policy insight below summarizes lessons from randomized evaluations on the impact of programs that draw on principles of cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce crime and violence.
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Chris Blattman (University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy) and Oeindrila Dube (University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy), Crime, Violence, and Conflict Co-Chairs
Photo: Glenna Gordon | J-PAL
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Using simple reminders to reduce failures to appear in court
Last updated: July 2023
Failing to appear—when people awaiting arraignment fail to appear in court—is criminalized in 46 US states and can result in jail time. Evidence from randomized evaluations suggests that simple reminders through text messages, mail, or phone calls can be effective in reducing the rate at which...
The impacts of economic interventions on intimate partner violence
Last updated: July 2022
An estimated one in every three women worldwide has suffered physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime. Achieving gender equality and eliminating violence against women are major global development goals. One popular strategy to reduce IPV is to increase women’s access to...
Reducing criminal behavior through cognitive behavioral therapy
Last updated: April 2018
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce criminal behavior among both at-risk youth and criminally engaged men, likely by helping them focus more on the future, change their self-perceptions, and/or slow their decision-making.
