Bolstering community ties as a mean of reducing crime

Abstract

Recent evidence indicates that alternative policies based on building community can reduce crime, especially in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In this paper we study the effects on local crime rates of bolstering community ties. We take advantage of the quasi-random deployment of a community health policy (Barcelona Salut als Barris, BSaB) that aims to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods through community-based initiatives. To test whether BSaB reduces crime, we follow a difference-in-differences approach and make use of detailed data from local police and Barcelona City Council administrative records. We find that BSaB significantly reduces a category we term “intimate crimes” in the short term and drug crimes in the long term. The young offender crime rate is also lowered. Evidence suggests that this is due to tighter-knit communities. These results provide evidence in favor of non-traditional crime prevention policies.