The Impact of Mobile Methadone Units on Crime Rates

• In Event: Dying for Care: How Policy Shapes Opioid Mortality and Treatment Access

Abstract

Methadone has been an effective form of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) since the 1960s. Given methadone’s status as a controlled substance, many doctors are unable or unwilling to prescribe it to patients. Since brick-and-mortar treatment facilities can be difficult to access, recipients also face barriers to necessary treatment. Limited access to effective treatment for OUD can lead to increased drug usage and high rates of criminality in underserved areas. A pandemic-era regulatory shift attempted to expand networks for MAT by allowing mobile methadone units (MMUs) to enter communities and provide treatment for OUD. 
This paper aims to assess the impact of MMU implementation on local crime, measured as arrests at the county-level across law-enforcement agencies. We use 2017–2024 data from the Uniform Crime Reports, which tracks monthly crime counts reported by every law enforcement agency in the United States to estimate the change in crime at the county level following the introduction of an MMU. Data on MMU introduction were hand collected from state and merged at the country-month level along with annual records of county-level opioid treatment programs collected by the The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Estimates using two-way fixed effects and event study designs suggest that introduction of MMUs are associated with a temporary increase in arrests for property crime and violent crime at the county level.  Two-way fixed effects models suggest that introduction of an MMU into a county is associated with roughly a single additional arrest per 100,000 residents per month. Event studies suggest these effects are persistent for at least 6 months before dissipating. Models for individual types suggest a smaller but significant effect of MMU introduction on violent crimes overall (but no specific category) and a significant increase in arrests for robbery but not other property crimes.

Author

• Adam Ira Biener, Lafayette College
  Presenting Author