What Is the Best Response? Examining the Impacts of Police and Alternative Responses

• In Event: Evaluating Modern Policing: Cameras, Crisis Teams, and Racial Discrimination

Abstract

Amid nationwide protests, civilian crisis response programs have proliferated across America as an alternative to traditional policing. Evidence on their safety impact and cost effectiveness, however, remains scarce. This paper evaluates the HEART program, a civilian-led crisis response initiative in Durham, North Carolina, designed to handle nonviolent 911 calls and minimize police intervention. We causally show that HEART responses to crisis calls significantly reduce crime reports, arrests, and response times. While the effects vary based on the composition of the response team, we do not find evidence that the program deters emergency reporting or compromises public safety. We further incorporate measures of public preferences and fiscal costs to show that HEART is a self-sustaining intervention.

Author

• JUSTIN E HOLZ, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author