Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2024) — With support from Arnold Ventures (AV), NORC at the University of Chicago’s Center on Public Safety & Justice is partnering with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to work with cities to gather evidence into how new policies could help law enforcement agencies solve a greater number of violent crimes. 

Specifically, NORC will determine the feasibility of conducting a multi-site randomized control trial on the impact of DNA collection from burglary investigations, and whether such DNA collection identifies significantly more serious, chronic offenders than business-as-usual case processing.

“While research has shown that collecting physical evidence from burglary crime scenes and testing for DNA is a cost-efficient way to solve crimes, it is used sparingly,” said John Roman, director of the Center on Public Safety & Justice at NORC at the University of Chicago. ​“People who commit property crimes are more likely than other types of offenders to commit additional crimes.” 

“Improving safety and security of our communities is vital,” said TBI Director David Rausch. ​“Violent crime continues to impact too many lives in the Volunteer State. I’m eager to get to work with our colleagues across the state to find and sharpen new strategies to improve the quality of life and better protect our citizens by holding those who are responsible for that violence accountable. This is all key to our mission, ​‘That Guilt Shall Not Escape, Nor Innocence Suffer.’”

“Identifying strong, evidence-based policies that reduce violent crime and improve public safety is a priority for Arnold Ventures,” said Alyson Clements, director of advocacy for criminal justice at AV. ​“We are excited to support NORC and our local Tennessee partners as they determine whether this approach will increase the percent violent crimes that are solved and improve community wellbeing.”