By Anthony A. Braga, Cory Schnell, Brandon C. Welsh

Research Summary

Broken windows theory suggests that police can prevent serious crime by addressing social and physical disorder in neighborhoods. In many U.S. cities, recent increases in disorder, fear, and crime have initiated calls for an intensification of disorder policing efforts. Disorder policing programs can be controversial, with evaluations yielding conflicting results. Further, a growing number of descriptive analyses of aggressive order maintenance programs raise concerns over varied negative consequences, such as increased racial disparities in arrests of citizens. Systematic review and meta-analytic techniques were used to conduct an updated analysis of the effects of disorder policing on crime. Fifty-six eligible studies including 59 independent tests of disorder policing interventions were identified, representing almost twice the number included in the previous review. As part of the meta-analysis, new effect size metrics were used. The updated meta-analysis suggests that policing disorder strategies are associated with overall statistically significant crime reduction effects that spill over into surrounding areas. The strongest program effect sizes were generated by community and problem-solving interventions designed to change social and physical disorder conditions at crime hot spots. Conversely, aggressive order maintenance strategies did not generate significant crime reductions.

Policy Implications

The types of strategies used by police departments to address disorder seem to matter in controlling crime, and this holds important implications for police–community relations, justice, and crime prevention. Further research is needed to understand the key programmatic elements that maximize the capacity of these strategies to prevent crime.

Criminology & Public Policy. Early View, May 2024.

By Eugenia C. South,  John MacDonald,  Vincent Reina,

Importance  The root causes of violent crime in Black urban neighborhoods are structural, including residential racial segregation and concentrated poverty. Previous work suggests that simple and scalable place-based environmental interventions can overcome the legacies of neighborhood disinvestment and have implications for health broadly and crime specifically. Objective  To assess whether structural repairs to the homes of low-income owners are associated with a reduction in nearby crime. Design, Setting, and Participants  This cross-sectional study using difference-in-differences analysis included data from the City of Philadelphia Basic Systems Repair Program (BSRP) from January 1, 2006, through April 30, 2013. The unit of analysis was block faces (single street segments between 2 consecutive intersecting streets) with or without homes that received the BSRP intervention. The blocks of homes that received BSRP services were compared with the blocks of eligible homes that were still on the waiting list. Data were analyzed from December 1, 2019, to February 28, 2021. Exposures  The BSRP intervention includes a grant of up to $20 000 provided to low-income owners for structural repairs to electrical, plumbing, heating, and roofing damage. Eligible homeowners must meet income guidelines, which are set by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and vary yearly. Main Outcomes and Measures  The main outcome was police-reported crime across 7 major categories of violent and nonviolent crimes (homicide, assault, burglary, theft, robbery, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness). Results  A total of 13 632 houses on 6732 block faces received the BSRP intervention. Owners of these homes had a mean (range) age of 56.5 (18-98) years, were predominantly Black (10 952 [78.6%]) or Latino (1658 [11.9%]) individuals, and had a mean monthly income of $993. These census tracts compared with those without BSRP intervention had a substantially larger Black population (49.5% vs 12.2%; |D| = 0.406) and higher unemployment rate (17.3% vs 9.3%; |D| = 0.357). The main regression analysis demonstrated that the addition to a block face of a property that received a BSRP intervention was associated with a 21.9% decrease in the expected count of total crime (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.78; 95% CI, 0.76-0.80; P<.001), 19.0% decrease in assault (IRR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.79-0.84; P<.001), 22.6% decrease in robbery (IRR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.75-0.80; P<.001), and 21.9% decrease in homicide (IRR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.71-0.86; P<.001). When restricting the analysis to blocks with properties that had ever received a BSRP intervention, a total crime reduction of 25.4% was observed for each additional property (IRR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.73-0.77; P<.001). A significant dose-dependent decrease in total crime was found such that the magnitude of association increased with higher numbers of homes participating in the BSRP on a block. Conclusions and Relevance  This study found that the BSRP intervention was associated with a modest but significant reduction in crime. These findings suggest that intentional and targeted financial investment in structural, scalable, and sustainable place-based interventions in neighborhoods that are still experiencing the lasting consequences of structural racism and segregation is a vital step toward achieving health equity.

Pennsylvania: JAMA Network Open, 2021. 12p.

By World Bank Group

Over the next 13 years, Feira de Santana, in the state of Bahia (BA), and Aracaju, in the state of Sergipe (SE) will both benefit from significant investments in street lighting. Several studies have discussed the many benefits of this type of investment, including the effects of street lighting on people’s perceptions of safety and security. This study aims to provide a baseline to support those lighting interventions and contribute to an evaluation exercise at the end of the investment cycle. The analysis contained herein tries to explore the potential impacts on people’s behavior and perceptions of safety and security, especially among women. It also addresses education and job opportunities. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, including qualitative and quantitative tools. It conducted 21 semistructured interviews with local authorities from both cities, as well as police officers, business association representatives, civil society organizations (CSOs), and school representatives. In addition, the research team carried out phone interviews with 602 respondents living in Aracaju and Feira de Santana. The survey data show that 56 percent of the Aracaju respondents are not satisfied with their street lighting, rating it as regular (37 percent), bad (7 percent), or terrible (12 percent). In Feira de Santana, an even larger share of the population (approximately 71 percent) think the same: 37 percent consider it regular, 9 percent consider it bad, and 25 percent rate it as terrible. Seventy-seven respondents, or 12 percent of the total, declared they had been a victim of nighttime crime within the previous 12 months. Almost 62 percent of them saw a link between poor lighting and crime. People from both cities feel less safe while walking on the streets during nighttime hours as opposed to walking during the day. Data also show that women feel less safe than men both during the day and in the evening or night. Poor lighting is one of the main reasons for this sense of insecurity, although empty streets were mentioned as an even more important factor. Since perceptions of security directly affect people’s behavior, 32 percent of all respondents from both cities reported that they always change routes in search of better lighting.

Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020. 143p.