Publications on Crime Prevention Efforts

This report investigates the relationship between alcohol availability, type of alcohol establishment, distribution policies and violence and disorder at the block group level in the District of Columbia. We test whether density of alcohol outlets influences: (1) aggravated assault incidents, (2) calls for service for social "disorder" offenses, and (3) calls for service for a domestic incident, and examine variation in outcomes by time of day/day of week. Spatial econometric regression models are estimated using an information theoretic approach. The findings indicate that on-premise outlets, but not off-premise outlets are a significant predictor of aggravated assault.

Commissioners in Travis County, Texas, says Nancy La Vigne, made "a heroic move" earlier this month, opening the doors to thousands of former prisoners who have hit a brick wall when looking for a job. In this Austin American-Statesman commentary, she explains why their action was good public policy.

In this Washington Examiner commentary, John Roman explains why automatically putting juvenile offenders in adult detention is a mistake: it can turn the teenagers into hardened criminals and sends the message that society has written them off.

New crime statistics from the FBI show violent crime increased in 2005 and 2006, and an Urban Institute analysis offers evidence that the concurrent explosion in iPod use may have triggered the spike.

The recent increase in violent crime defies easy explanation, and many hypotheses have been put forward for debate. In this brief, we propose that the rise in violent offending and the explosion in the sales of iPods and other portable media devices is more than coincidental. We propose that, over the past two years, America may have experienced an iCrime wave.