By Felipe Gonçalves, Elisa Jácome, and Emily Weisburst

How does immigration enforcement affect public safety? Heightened enforcement could reduce crime by deterring and incapacitating immigrant offenders or, alternatively, increase crime by discouraging victims from reporting offenses. The researchers study the U.S. Secure Communities program, which expanded interior enforcement against unauthorized immigrants. Using national survey data, they find that the program reduced the likelihood that Hispanic victims reported crimes to police and increased the victimization of Hispanics. Total reported crimes are unchanged, masking these opposing effects. The researchers provide evidence that reduced Hispanic reporting is the key driver of increased victimization. Their findings underscore the importance of trust in institutions as a central determinant of public safety.

Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research,  Northwestern University, 2024. 95p.

By Steven Kemp, David Buil-Gil , Fernando Miró-Llinares and Nicholas Lord3

Although it is known that businesses report cybercrime to public authorities at a low rate, and this hinders prevention strategies, there is a lack of research on companies’ decisions to report cyber victimisation. This paper analyses the UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey to explore factors associated with cybercrime reporting by businesses. Results indicate that the type of cybercrime is relevant to the reporting decision, and that the likelihood of reporting increases when cybersecurity incidents generate negative impacts and when the company places high priority on cybersecurity. However, we find no association between having cybersecurity insurance and reporting. Finally, while having outsourced cybersecurity management is associated with reporting to anyone outside the organisation but not to public authorities, inhouse cybersecurity teams seem more inclined to report to public authorities. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of the private cybersecurity sector and the criminal justice system in combatting cybercrime.

Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2021.

By Corey Whichard and Katelyn Kelley

There is limited research on internet sting operations. It is unclear whether these operations are effective at deterring or reducing crime. Using administrative data, WSIPP examined 299 Net Nanny arrests made between August 2015 and September 2022. Most arrests (96%) came from one of two sting scenarios. Scenario #1 (57%): Undercover officers posed online as a minor posting personal ads on dating websites or internet forums. Scenario #2 (39%): Undercover officers posed online as a parent seeking adults to engage in sexual activity with their children. WSIPP compared two groups: 1) individuals with Net Nanny cases that resulted in conviction and 2) individuals with cases from the same time period that resulted in conviction for similar offenses (not Net Nanny). Individuals in both groups exhibit similar demographic characteristics and criminal history. On average, across these specific measures individuals convicted through Net Nanny resemble people convicted of sexual crimes against minors who were arrested via traditional police tactics.

Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy . 2023. 32p.

By Matthew R. Durose and Lynn Langton

Examines the characteristics and experiences of persons age 16 or older who contacted police to request assistance in 2011.

Examines the characteristics and experiences of persons age 16 or older who contacted police to request assistance in 2011. The report describes the perceptions of residents about police behavior and response during these encounters. It details requests for police assistance to (1) report a crime, suspicious activity, or neighborhood disturbance; (2) report a non-crime emergency, such as a medical issue or traffic accident; and (3) seek help for a nonemergency or other reason, such as asking for directions or help with an animal problem. Data are from the 2011 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which collects information from a nationally representative sample of persons in U.S. households on contact with police during a 12-month period.

Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2013. 12p.

By Elizabeth. Groff and Travis Taniguchi

According to the FBI, there were over 1.5 million burglaries in the U.S. in 2016, with almost 70% residential (FBI, 2017a). Combined, the victims of burglary suffered over $3.6 billion in lost property (about $2,400/burglary). Yet, only about 13% of burglaries reported to the police were cleared (FBI, 2017b). While more prevalent than violent crime, burglary rarely generates attention and headlines. Yet, the sense of violation and vulnerability typical of residential burglary victims is considerable, and so prevention would seem the best solution. The Near Repeat Phenomenon The biggest challenge facing crime prevention in policing is the need to correctly anticipate where and when crime will occur (Pease & Laycock, 1999). Hot spots policing focuses on the locations where crimes occur frequently, though knowing when they will occur can help law enforcement effectively deploy personnel. Repeat victimization occurs when the same target is victimized again. However, the “Near Repeat” (NR) phenomenon (Morgan, 2001) is when those that live near to a burglary victim are victimized soon after; in other words, when one home is burglarized, for a particular time period afterwards, homes nearby are at an elevated risk of burglary. Empirical research has clearly confirmed the existence of NR burglary patterns. The exact spatial and temporal extent of increased risk varies; however, we know the increased risk level that occurs after a burglary is temporary, suggesting police must act quickly to maximize the potential for reaping crime prevention benefits.

Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2018. 14p.

By Nadia Wager, Alexandra Robertshaw Seery, Diana Parkinson

This research study was commissioned by the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) to explore the ways in which police forces across England and Wales seek to disrupt child sexual abuse. Disruption, alongside enforcement and prevention, is one of the principal ways in which police respond to criminality and criminal activity. While enforcement focuses on the prosecution of past crimes, and prevention aims to stop whole groups of suspects or protect potential victims, disruption is a more flexible and dynamic approach which seeks to disrupt offenders’ networks, lifestyles, and routines so that it is harder for them to commit crime. Disrupting child sexual abuse is a vital activity because most incidents of such abuse are never reported to or discovered by the police – meaning that many individuals who sexually abuse children remain at liberty to commit further abuse. Disruption measures have the potential to swiftly interrupt contact between a suspect and a child or young person, and to help stop further abuse in the longer term.

Ilford, Essex, UK: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, 2021. 68p.

By Jens Chr. Andvig and Gbewopo Attila

Recently economists have begun to study various aspects of public sector institutions (with their behavioral neighborhoods) and their effects on the long run economic development. Degrees of corruption, rule of law and protection of property rights have all apparently significant economic impact. These results are all based on the construction of indicators for these difficult-to-observe explanatory variable complexes. In most cases the indicators applied have been developed for most countries and have on the one hand ‘nice’ statistical properties when embedded in regression equations, but on the other hand are conceptually fuzzy with unclear relationships to basic observations. In this paper we go through many of the same relationships, but based on international efforts to collect questionnaire information about citizens’ experience with crime and police corruption. This information is more conceptually distinct and likely to be more closely related to relevant experience, but proves on the other hand less amenable to econometric analysis. Despite the latter weakness we have found it worthwhile to pursue it in order to complement the indicator- based approaches.

Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 2010 53p.