Crime, Universities and Campus Police

W. David Allen

Applied Economics, 2021, vol. 53, issue 37, 4276-4291

Abstract: Crime motivates self-protection, such as undertaken quite visibly by individuals, households, and businesses. But we know much less about self-protection by public institutions, including schools, especially from an economic perspective. This paper examines how universities use campus police for that purpose. Conceptually, self-protection reduces vulnerability to crime but incurs costs whether a victimization happens or not; an actual crime further imposes a victimization cost. The agent (university administration) determines the equilibrium level of self-protection within this analytical environment. Empirical analysis of a two-year panel of U.S. universities reveals increased campus police use given larger external and internal crime threats and in the presence of better students and faculty. Larceny appears particularly influential, but the violent crimes of rape and aggravated assault do not. Extended analysis reveals that schools plagued by burglary and vehicle theft on campus utilize significantly more ancillary, procedural protections such as night-time police escorts. Larger-acreage, larger-enrolment, and religious-affiliated universities exhibit the most ongoing vulnerability to crime, showing significantly lesser campus police use even when facing higher internal crime threats.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2021.1899117

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