The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police

Authors

Paul Heaton, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law SchoolFollow
Priscillia Hunt, RAND CorporationFollow
John M. MacDonald, University of PennsylvaniaFollow
Jessica Saunders, RAND CorporationFollow

ORCID

Paul Heaton 0000-0002-7948-1737

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Abstract

Over a million people in the United States are employed in private security and law enforcement, yet very little is known about the effects of private police on crime. The current study examines the relationship between a privately-funded university police force and crime in a large U.S. city. Following an expansion of the jurisdictional boundary of the private police force, we see no short-term change in crime. However, using a geographic regression discontinuity approach, we find large impacts of private police on public safety, with violent crime in particular decreasing. These contradictory results appear to be a consequence of delayed effect of private police on crime.

Keywords

Empirical legal studies, law enforcement, University of Chicago Police Department, UCPD, private police, police effectiveness, geographic regression discontinuity

Publication Title

Journal of Law & Economics

Publication Citation

59 J. L. & Econ. 889 (2016)

Repository Citation

Heaton, Paul; Hunt, Priscillia; MacDonald, John M.; and Saunders, Jessica, "The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police" (2016). All Faculty Scholarship. 1856.
https://doi.org/10.1086/690732