The Effect of Privately Provided Police Services on Crime
26 Pages Posted: 6 Nov 2012 Last revised: 20 Nov 2012
Date Written: November 4, 2012
Abstract
Research demonstrates that police reduce crime. The implication of this research for investment in a particular form of extra police services, those provided by private institutions, has not been rigorously examined. We capitalize on the discontinuity in police force size at the geographic boundary of a private university police department to estimate the effect of the extra police services on crime. Extra police provided by the university generate approximately 45-60 percent fewer crimes in the surrounding neighborhood. These effects appear to be similar to other estimates in the literature.
Keywords: crime, police, security, regression discontinuity
JEL Classification: K14, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation