Chicago One Summer Plus — Summer Jobs and Violence Reduction

Summary

The One Summer Plus experiment produced one of the most surprising findings in criminology: a low-cost summer jobs program reduced violent crime arrests by 43% — and the effect persisted more than a year after the jobs ended. The mechanism was not primarily income (the earnings were modest) or formal skill acquisition. Post-hoc analysis pointed to the social-emotional learning component: the program gave participants practice in emotional regulation, perspective-taking, and automatic behavior control — skills that matter precisely in the unstructured, high-risk social situations where violence occurs. The persistence of the effect well after employment ended supports this interpretation. The finding matters not only because it offers a practical policy lever but because it suggests that youth violence is partly a skill-deficit problem, not just an opportunity-deficit problem — and that brief, structured programming can shift durable behavioral patterns.

Research question

"Does a summer jobs program reduce violent crime arrests among high-risk youth — and does the effect persist after the program ends?"

Methodology

Result

Positive

Violent crime arrests: −43% during program period; effect persisted at −13 months post-program (13 months after jobs ended); no significant effect on property crime arrests; program cost per violent crime arrest averted: approximately $1,100

Evidence strength

Strong

Randomized controlled trial with large sample.

Replication status

Partially replicated