Richard M. Aborn is president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, a non-partisan non-profit organization with multidisciplinary expertise that works to improve public safety through innovation. At the Crime Commission, Aborn advances strategies to improve the justice system, strengthen gun policies and practices, prevent youth gun violence and prevent cybercrime. The commission also works with law enforcement, government agencies, community-based organizations and academia to implement effective, comprehensive strategies to prevent crime.
Also under Aborn’s leadership, the commission launched the Predictive Prevention Lab, an incubator to develop predictive prevention solutions to enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention through behavior change. The commission partnered with researchers at New York University to develop a program, called E-Responder, rooted in proven conflict resolution strategies, which trains community-based anti-violence professionals to interrupt conflicts on social media before the conflict escalates into real-world violence. In addition, the commission partnered with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh to create an intelligent tutoring system that builds internet users’ resilience to phishing attacks.
In addition to his work at the Crime Commission, Aborn serves as president of CAAS LLC, which advises police departments, criminal justice agencies, corporations and other organizations in the United States, Latin America and Europe on criminal justice policy, violence reduction and Rule of Law issues.
My network of professionals working on countering hate in all its forms grew exponentially after attending Eradicate Hate in 2021. The myriad voices represented at Eradicate Hate, from big tech companies to academic researchers to those with lived experience, reinforced to me the importance of cross-cutting and collaborative approaches to counter hate and its devastating impacts on society. I’ve been fortunate to sustain and build those networks with many of those I met at Eradicate Hate in 2021.
