Institutions and Crime: Policy Impacts on Safety, Reintegration, and Civic Participation

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Recent years have brought increased policy attention to the complex interplay between public infrastructure, social inequality, and community well-being. As local and state governments adopt new environmental, social, and criminal justice interventions, researchers are leveraging administrative data and natural experiments to evaluate their effects. From wind farms in rural counties to homicides in urban neighborhoods, and from offender registry laws to welfare payment schedules, these shifts offer new opportunities to understand how built and institutional environments shape crime, public safety, and democratic participation. This panel presents four papers using quasi-experimental methods to examine these dynamics, offering evidence and policy insights aligned with APPAM’s 2025 theme: “Forging Collaborations for Transformative and Resilient Policy Solutions.”

The first paper, Blades of Despair? The Impact of Wind Farms on Crime, examines how wind energy infrastructure affects crime rates. Using Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data from 1995 to 2020 and a staggered difference-in-differences framework, the study finds that crime declines following wind turbine installations at the county level. The study also investigates spatial heterogeneity to assess more localized impacts. To investigate mechanisms, the author incorporates alcohol sales data from the Nielsen Retail Scanner Dataset and finds consumption changes consistent with reduced social stress. The paper highlights how targeted infrastructure investments may generate social benefits beyond economic returns.

The second paper, Enclaves of Isolation: Violence and Political Participation in U.S. Cities, explores how proximity to homicides affects civic engagement. Using geocoded homicide data and voter files in a regression discontinuity in time design, the study finds that living near recent homicides reduces federal election turnout by 4–6 percentage points. Effects are most pronounced in plurality-Black neighborhoods and when the victim is Black. Mechanism tests using mobile phone foot-traffic data suggest that reduced mobility and perceived risk may drive this pattern. The paper underscores how concentrated violence can weaken democratic participation in marginalized communities.

The third paper, The Effect of Violent and Drug Offender Registries on Crime and Recidivism, exploits state-level variation in the implementation of registries for individuals convicted of violent and drug-related offenses—an understudied policy tool. While sex offender registries are well known, nine states have enacted additional registration requirements for other offenses. The paper estimates the effects of these policies on recidivism and crime. While registries aim to improve public safety, they may also hinder reintegration by imposing burdensome requirements and exacerbating social exclusion.

The final paper, Welfare Payment Schedules, Financial Hardship, and Property Crime, investigates how the timing of social assistance payments in British Columbia affects crime. Variability in the gap between disbursement and intended month-of-use creates quasi-random exposure to financial strain. The study finds that longer delays are associated with increased property crime, pointing to the role of short-term economic hardship in driving offenses. These findings inform efforts to redesign payment systems to enhance household and community stability.

Together, these papers demonstrate how diverse policy tools -- from infrastructure to social policy -- shape crime, reintegration, and civic life. Each study offers rigorous evidence for building safer, more resilient, and equitable communities.

Policy Area

• Crime, Justice, and Drugs

Secondary Policy Area

• Social Equity and Race

Chair

• Magnus J Lofstrom, Public Policy Institute of California

Discussants

• Jamein P Cunningham

• Roman Gabriel Rivera, Georgetown University

Organizer

• Jaehyun Choi, Indiana University

Individual Presentations

• Blades of Despair? The Impact of Wind Farms on Crime - Presenting Author: Jaehyun Choi, Indiana University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Alberto Ortega, Indiana University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Nikos Zirogiannis, Indiana University

• Enclaves of Isolation: Violence and Political Participation in U.S. Cities - Presenting Author: Rebekah Jones, University of California, Berkeley

• The Effect of Violent and Drug Offender Registries on Crime and Recidivism - Presenting Author: Grace Nettie Phillips, University of Memphis

• Welfare payment schedules, financial hardship and property crime - Presenting Author: Kevin T. T Schnepel, University of Sydney