Poster #43 - Examining the Secondary Effects of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operation LASER on Los Angeles Neighborhoods

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

In 2011, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) partnered with Justice & Security Strategies, Inc. (JSS) to address gang and gun-related crime in Los Angeles, California, through a new intervention called Operation LASER (Los Angeles Strategic Extraction and Restoration). Following its initial implementation, the LAPD deemed the pilot program a success and aimed to expand the intervention citywide by 2019. However, growing public concern over civil rights violations and the disproportionate targeting of marginalized communities led to widespread criticism. In response to the public outcry and a critical audit by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the LAPD terminated Operation LASER in April 2019. This study investigates the broader social implications of Operation LASER, specifically its influence on neighborhood desirability in Los Angeles, California, using home sales prices as an indicator of perceived value. Using census tract–level data and LAPD spatial boundaries, this study employs fixed effects and difference-in-differences models to analyze changes in home sales prices across affected and unaffected neighborhoods. Preliminary findings indicate that Operation LASER had a statistically significant impact on home sales prices across affected neighborhoods, though the magnitude and direction of these effects varied by location. These findings contribute to broader discussions on the unintended outcomes of proactive policing strategies, highlighting the need to carefully weigh public safety strategies against their long-term social and economic costs.

Author

• Cristian Apolinar, University of California Irvine
  Presenting Author