Expanded Police & Safety Efforts around an Urban University

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

The past decade has demonstrated a substantial increase in campus law enforcement agencies extending their jurisdiction and patrol areas to include the areas surrounding universities. However, little is known about the effects of campus police in surrounding municipalities. The University of Cincinnati (UC) has expanded privately-funded safety initiatives in the area neighboring its urban campus, and has sustained these efforts for the past two years, including increasing the police presence by over 300% in this small geographic area. The current poster is designed to examine the impact of these strategies on crime in the off-campus areas bordering UC. A regression discontinuity design is used to compare street-segment crime trends in and around the targeted area, while accounting for the spatial proximity to specifically targeted streets within the extended jurisdictional zone. Findings of this study will contribute to the body of knowledge surrounding privately funded crime prevention efforts in public areas surrounding urban universities.

Authors

• Gabrielle Isaza, University of Cincinnati

• Jillian Shafer, University of Cincinnati

• Samantha Marie Henderson, University of Cincinnati

• Robin S. Engel, University of Cincinnati