Public Safety through Private Action: an Economic Assessment of BIDS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cook, Philip J.; MacDonald, John
• 署名单位: Duke University; University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2011.02419.x
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 445-462
• 关键词: business improvement districts; crime; revitalization; PUNISHMENT; services; benefits; demand

摘要

Private actions to avoid and prevent criminal victimisation and assist public law enforcement are vital inputs into the crime-control process. One form of private action, the business improvement district (BID), appears particularly promising. A BID is a non-profit organisation created by property owners to provide local public goods, usually including public safety. Our analysis of 30 Los Angeles BIDs demonstrates that the social benefits of BID expenditures on security are a large multiple (about 20) of the private expenditures. Crime displacement appears minimal. Crime reduction in the BID areas has been accompanied by a reduction in arrests, suggesting further savings.