Gentrification and Postindustrial Policing: A Comparative Analysis

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

This paper provides an empirical test of the postindustrial policing hypothesis, which argues that as cities pursue growth strategies designed to appeal to members of the so called “creative classes,” they increasingly adopt punitive policing strategies such as order maintenance policing. A recent set works offers some empirical validation of this theory, but is limited in the number and types of cases they consider. This paper tests a key assumption of the hypothesis, that areas of a city undergoing gentrification or revitalization will evince higher levels of postindustrial policing, and does so in a larger set of American and British cities. In a series of spatial Durbin models that utilize newly available data sets on policing and crime, this paper demonstrates a strong positive association between gentrification and postindustrial policing. These results and their potential implications for policing practice in the United States and the United Kingdom are discussed in the conclusion.

Author

• Ayobami Laniyonu, University of Los Angeles, California