Examining the Role of Private Crime-Control Initiatives: Evidence from Chicago's Business Improvement Districts

• In Event: Saving the Neighborhood?: Private Crime Control, Gentrification, and the Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration

Abstract

This study uses a differences-in-differences approach to examine the impact of Chicago's business improvement districts, known as Special Service Areas (SSAs), on violent and property crime rates between 2001 and 2014. Results suggest that after SSAs were enacted, on average, aggravated assaults fell by 23 incidents, robberies fell by 33 incidents, burglaries fell by 10 incidents, and auto-thefts declined by 18 incidents. Similarly, the probability of a homicide occurring inside of SSAs fell by 11 probability points. An examination of heterogeneous effects across SSAs of different sizes reveals that larger SSAs were more successful in reducing crime rates. Analyses of spillover effects indicate that these crime reductions did not produce displacement of crimes to neighboring areas. These findings are consistent with prior evidence from other studies conducted in other in cities and shed light on the role that private crime-control initiatives have played in reducing crime rates in public spaces in urban areas in the United States.

Author

• Gerard Torrats-Espinosa, New York University