IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juecon/v110y2019icp1-25.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do more eyes on the street reduce Crime? Evidence from Chicago's safe passage program

Author

Listed:
  • McMillen, Daniel
  • Sarmiento-Barbieri, Ignacio
  • Singh, Ruchi

Abstract

Chicago's Safe Passage program attempts to ensure the safety of student traveling to and from schools by placing civilian guards along specified routes. The program was launched during the 2009-2010 school year and was expanded to 140 schools by 2015-16. We use data from more than 10 years of geocoded Chicago police reports and school level data to analyze the Safe Passage program's effects on crime rates and the rate of absenteeism from schools. Our findings suggest that the program is an efficient and cost effective alternative way of policing with direct effects on crime and student's outcomes. Exploiting both spatial and temporal variation in the implementation of the program, we find that the presence of guards results in lower levels of crime, with violent crime declining by 14% on average. The rate of absenteeism is estimated to decline by 2.5 percentage points. We find no evidence of spillovers of crime to areas that are not along the Safe Passage routes.

Suggested Citation

  • McMillen, Daniel & Sarmiento-Barbieri, Ignacio & Singh, Ruchi, 2019. "Do more eyes on the street reduce Crime? Evidence from Chicago's safe passage program," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 1-25.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:110:y:2019:i:c:p:1-25
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2019.01.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119019300014
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jue.2019.01.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mirko Draca & Stephen Machin & Robert Witt, 2011. "Panic on the Streets of London: Police, Crime, and the July 2005 Terror Attacks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 2157-2181, August.
    2. Billings, Stephen B. & Phillips, David C., 2017. "Why do kids get into trouble on school days?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 16-24.
    3. Stephen Machin & Olivier Marie & Sunčica Vujić, 2011. "The Crime Reducing Effect of Education," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(552), pages 463-484, May.
    4. Paul Heaton & Priscillia Hunt & John MacDonald & Jessica Saunders, 2016. "The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(4), pages 889-912.
    5. Klick, Jonathan & Tabarrok, Alexander, 2005. "Using Terror Alert Levels to Estimate the Effect of Police on Crime," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(1), pages 267-279, April.
    6. Ellen, Ingrid Gould & Lacoe, Johanna & Sharygin, Claudia Ayanna, 2013. "Do foreclosures cause crime?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 59-70.
    7. Tauchen, Helen & Witte, Ann Dryden & Griesinger, Harriet, 1994. "Criminal Deterrence: Revisiting the Issue with a Birth Cohort," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(3), pages 399-412, August.
    8. Aaron Chalfin & Justin McCrary, 2017. "Criminal Deterrence: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(1), pages 5-48, March.
    9. Brian A. Jacob & Lars Lefgren, 2003. "Are Idle Hands the Devil's Workshop? Incapacitation, Concentration, and Juvenile Crime," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1560-1577, December.
    10. Rebecca Diamond & Tim McQuade, 2019. "Who Wants Affordable Housing in Their Backyard? An Equilibrium Analysis of Low-Income Property Development," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1063-1117.
    11. Sanfelice, Viviane, 2019. "Are safe routes effective? Assessing the effects of Chicago’s Safe Passage program on local crimes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 357-373.
    12. Aliprantis, Dionissi & Hartley, Daniel, 2015. "Blowing it up and knocking it down: The local and city-wide effects of demolishing high concentration public housing on crime," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 67-81.
    13. Cui, Lin & Walsh, Randall, 2015. "Foreclosure, vacancy and crime," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 72-84.
    14. John M. MacDonald & Jonathan Klick & Ben Grunwald, 2016. "The effect of private police on crime: evidence from a geographic regression discontinuity design," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 179(3), pages 831-846, June.
    15. Jeff Grogger, 1997. "Local Violence, Educational Attainment, and Teacher Pay," NBER Working Papers 6003, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Pope, Devin G. & Pope, Jaren C., 2015. "When Walmart comes to town: Always low housing prices? Always?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-13.
    17. Ihlanfeldt, Keith & Mayock, Tom, 2010. "Panel data estimates of the effects of different types of crime on housing prices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2-3), pages 161-172, May.
    18. Rafael Di Tella & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2004. "Do Police Reduce Crime? Estimates Using the Allocation of Police Forces After a Terrorist Attack," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 115-133, March.
    19. Jeffrey Grogger, 1997. "Local Violence and Educational Attainment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(4), pages 659-682.
    20. Leigh Linden & Jonah E. Rockoff, 2008. "Estimates of the Impact of Crime Risk on Property Values from Megan's Laws," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(3), pages 1103-1127, June.
    21. Luallen, Jeremy, 2006. "School's out... forever: A study of juvenile crime, at-risk youths and teacher strikes," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 75-103, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Law and Economics > Economics of Crime > Crime Prevention > Police Funding > Impact

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nils Braakmann, 2022. "Does stop and search reduce crime? Evidence from street‐level data and a surge in operations following a high‐profile crime," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1370-1397, July.
    2. Sanfelice, Viviane, 2019. "Are safe routes effective? Assessing the effects of Chicago’s Safe Passage program on local crimes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 357-373.
    3. Kitchens, Carl & Wallace, Cullen T., 2022. "The impact of place-based poverty relief: Evidence from the Federal Promise Zone Program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Gonzalez, Robert & Komisarow, Sarah, 2020. "Community monitoring and crime: Evidence from Chicago's Safe Passage Program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    5. Albouy, David & Christensen, Peter & Sarmiento-Barbieri, Ignacio, 2020. "Unlocking amenities: Estimating public good complementarity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sanfelice, Viviane, 2019. "Are safe routes effective? Assessing the effects of Chicago’s Safe Passage program on local crimes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 357-373.
    2. Steinberg, Matthew P. & Ukert, Benjamin & MacDonald, John M., 2019. "Schools as places of crime? Evidence from closing chronically underperforming schools," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 125-140.
    3. Laura Jaitman, 2019. "Frontiers in the economics of crime: lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-36, December.
    4. Blesse, Sebastian & Diegmann, André, 2019. "Police reorganization and crime: Evidence from police station closures," Working Papers 07/2019, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung.
    5. Blanes i Vidal, Jordi & Mastrobuoni, Giovanni, 2017. "Police Patrols and Crime," CEPR Discussion Papers 12266, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Jesse Matheson & Brendon McConnell & James Rockey & Argyris Sakalis, 2023. "Do Remote Workers Deter Neighborhood Crime? Evidence from the Rise of Working from Home," Working Papers 2023020, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    7. Anna Bindler & Randi Hjalmarsson, 2021. "The Impact of the First Professional Police Forces on Crime [State Capacity and Economic Development: A Network Approach]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(6), pages 3063-3103.
    8. O’Flaherty, Brendan & Sethi, Rajiv, 2015. "Urban Crime," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1519-1621, Elsevier.
    9. Blanes i Vidal, Jordi & Mastrobuoni, Giovanni, 2018. "Police Patrols and Crime," IZA Discussion Papers 11393, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Albouy, David & Christensen, Peter & Sarmiento-Barbieri, Ignacio, 2020. "Unlocking amenities: Estimating public good complementarity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    11. Tom Kirchmaier & Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi & Robert Witt, 2020. "Prices, Policing and Policy: The Dynamics of Crime Booms and Busts," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(2), pages 1040-1077.
    12. Fabbri, Marco & Klick, Jonathan, 2021. "The ineffectiveness of ‘observe and report’ patrols on crime," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    13. Palmer, Caroline & Phillips, David C. & Sullivan, James X., 2019. "Does emergency financial assistance reduce crime?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 34-51.
    14. González-Pampillón, Nicolás, 2022. "Spillover effects from new housing supply," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    15. Blesse, Sebastian & Diegmann, André, 2022. "The place-based effects of police stations on crime: Evidence from station closures," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    16. Stephen Machin & Olivier Marie & Sunčica Vujić, 2011. "The Crime Reducing Effect of Education," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(552), pages 463-484, May.
    17. Casilda Lasso de la Vega & Oscar Volij & Federico Weinschelbaum, 2021. "Can more police induce more crime?," Working Papers 2107, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    18. Gregory De & Marina Toger & Sarit Weisburd, 2023. "Police Response Time and Injury Outcomes," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(654), pages 2147-2177.
    19. Arvate, Paulo & Souza, André Portela, 2022. "Armed police and violence: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in Brazil," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    20. Gabriel Costeira Machado & Cristiano Aguiar De Oliveira, 2018. "The Deterrent Effects Of Brazillian Child Labor Law," Anais do XLIV Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 44th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 237, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Police; Policy deployment; Public schools; Educational outcomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:110:y:2019:i:c:p:1-25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622905 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.