NCJ Number
85388
Date Published
1981
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study expands consideration of crime displacement due to criminal mobility by posing the Mehay argument within the context of a simultaneous equation model of crime, law enforcement, and the public sector to emphasize the public policy issues involved.
Abstract
Few firm conclusions can be drawn from the study. First, it is not clear that the magnitude of the crime displacement is large. Empirical results to date suggest that if spillovers exist, they are relatively small. If the spillover effect is significant, however, it results not only in increases in the cost of crime but also in a reduction in tax bases and abilities to finance crime control. Compensating intergovernmental transfer payments may be warranted. Police agency consolidation is an alternative solution; however, agency consolidation, while it can solve the spillover problem, may lead to increased costs of operation (if there are diseconomies of scale) and loss of local control. As of now, the evidence on the advantages or disadvantages of scale for police departments is not conclusive. Thus, it may be a mistake to consolidate departments to solve an alleged spillover problem, particularly if the benefits of economies of scale are not well documented. Finally, it should be noted that the spillover effect hinges on the relative profitability of crime in different locations. Crime profitability depends not just upon police activity but also upon activities in other components of the criminal justice system. If these components of the system have service areas which are metropolitan-wide or larger, then the spillover impact of differential expenditures may be mitigated. Mathematical equations, 13 notes, and 26 references are provided. (Author summary modified)