Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:47:36.715Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Estimating the Effects of Police Technology Using Quasi-Experimental Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2017

Jillian B. Carr*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, 403 W. State St, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2056, USA, e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Law enforcement agencies are adopting a variety of new surveillance technologies at a fast pace. These technologies could have substantial benefits in terms of public safety, but, for many of them, their ability to reduce crime is unknown. Although a small experimental literature addresses some of these technologies, many of the implementations have been too small to provide an accurate measurement of their potential. In this paper, I explore the advantages and make general suggestions about the use of quasi-experimental methodologies in estimating the public safety benefits of police technology. I also consider the specific case of license plate readers and provide some examples of difference-in-differences approaches that could be used to study their efficacy.

Type
Articles
Copyright
© Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agan, Amanda (2011). Sex Offender Registries: Fear without Function? The Journal of Law and Economics, 54(1), 207239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Angrist, Joshua D. & Pischke, Jörn-Steffen (2008). Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion. Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, Gary S. (1968). Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach. Journal of Political Economy, 76(2), 169217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, Jillian B. & Doleac, Jennifer L.(2017). Keeps the Kids Inside? Juvenile Curfews and Urban Gun Violence. Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Di Tella, Rafael & Schargrodsky, Ernesto (2004). Do Police Reduce Crime? Estimates Using the Allocation of Police Forces After a Terrorist Attack. American Economic Review, 94(1), 115133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doleac, Jennifer L. (2017). The Effect of DNA Databases on Crime. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9(1), 165201.Google Scholar
Koper, Christopher S., Taylor, Bruce G. & Woods, Daniel J. (2013). A Randomized Test of Initial and Residual Deterrence from Directed Patrols and Use of License Plate Readers at Crime Hot Spots. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 9(2), 213244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lum, Cynthia, Hibdon, Julie, Cave, Breanne, Koper, Christopher S. & Merola, Linda (2011). License Plate Reader (LPR) Police Patrols in Crime Hot Spots: an Experimental Evaluation in Two Adjacent Jurisdictions. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7(4), 321345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lum, Cynthia, Merola, Linda, Willis, Julie & Cave, Breanne(2010). License Plate Recognition Technology (LPR): Impact Evaluation and Community Assessment. Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, George Mason University.Google Scholar
Owens, Emily G. (2009). More Time, Less Crime? Estimating the Incapacitative Effect of Sentence Enhancements. The Journal of Law and Economics, 52(3), 551579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Bruce G., Koper, Christopher S. & Woods, Daniel J. (2012). Combating Vehicle Theft in Arizona: A Randomized Experiment with License Plate Recognition Technology. Criminal Justice Review, 37(1), 2450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar