THE DETERRENT EFFECT OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS ON CRIME

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gomez, Santiago; Mejia, Daniel; Tobon, Santiago
• 署名单位: Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg; Universidad de los Andes (Colombia); Universidad EAFIT
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1520-6970
• DOI: 10.1002/pam.22280
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 553-571
• 关键词: cctv; prevention

摘要

From the U.S. to Colombia to China, millions of public surveillance cameras are at the core of crime prevention strategies. Yet, we know little about the effects of surveillance cameras on criminal behavior, especially in developing economies. We study an installation program in Medellin and find that the quasi-random allocation of cameras led to a decrease in crimes and arrests. With no increase in the monitoring capacity and no chance to use camera footage in prosecution, these results suggest offenders were deterred rather than incapacitated. We test for spillovers and find no evidence of crime displacement or diffusion of benefits to surrounding locations.