Rare homicides, criminal behavior, and the returns to police labor

Nicholas Lovett and Yuhan Xue

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022, vol. 194, issue C, 172-195

Abstract: We evaluate the impact of increased policing on criminal behavior by leveraging the quasi-random timing of homicides in jurisdictions where homicides are rare and spur increases in policing. Across jurisdictions, we evaluate offending immediately before and after a rare homicide using a regression discontinuity design in conjunction with high-frequency incident data. We reveal substantial, and precise declines in total and violent crime that are robust to a host of changes in the analysis. We contribute by plausibly isolating the impacts of increased police labor, and explicitly studying policing and offending outside large metropolitan centers.

Keywords: Homicide; Policing; Deterrence; Regression discontinuity in time; Event study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H76 J18 K14 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:194:y:2022:i:c:p:172-195

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.023

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