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Protest and property crime: political use of police resources and the deterrence of crime

Author

Listed:
  • Jaewook Byeon

    (Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU))

  • Iljoong Kim

    (Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU))

  • Dongwon Lee

    (Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU))

Abstract

This article investigates the claim that the political use of police resources promotes crime. Using a panel of South Korean metropolitan areas, we show that (1) the reallocation of police resources toward the control of political protests reduces arrest rates for crime and (2) the resulting reduction in criminal arrests significantly increases the incidence of crime. Overall, the impact of the reallocation of police resources works mainly through tradeoffs with arrest rates. Our findings imply that it is not the size of the police per se, but the allocation of police resources toward crime control that deters crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaewook Byeon & Iljoong Kim & Dongwon Lee, 2018. "Protest and property crime: political use of police resources and the deterrence of crime," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 181-196, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:175:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s11127-018-0525-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-018-0525-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Police resource allocation; Protest control; Strategic defection; Probability of arrest; Deterrence of crime;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • H39 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Other

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