IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/evarev/v37y2013i3-4p314-342.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Spillover Effects of Focused Deterrence on Gang Violence

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony A. Braga
  • Robert Apel
  • Brandon C. Welsh

Abstract

Background: Focused deterrence strategies attempt to increase punishment risks faced by violent gangs through the development of new and creative ways of deploying traditional and non-traditional law enforcement tools. In addition to increasing the swiftness and certainty of sanctions, these strategies explicitly communicate incentives and disincentives to deter likely gang offenders from violent behavior. Objective: This study seeks to determine whether focused deterrence strategies generate spillover deterrent effects on the gun violence behaviors of vicariously treated gangs that were socially tied to directly treated violent gangs. Research Design: A nonrandomized quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the gun violence reduction effects of focused deterrence strategies on directly treated gangs and vicariously treated gangs. Propensity score matching techniques were used to identify balanced comparison gangs for the vicariously treated gangs. Growth curve regression models were used to analyze gun violence trends for treated gangs relative to comparison gangs. Unit of Analysis: Quarterly counts of fatal and non-fatal shootings involving specific street gangs between 2006 and 2010 served as the units of analysis. Measures: Key outcome measures included quarterly shootings committed by specific gangs, shooting victimizations suffered by specific gangs, and the total number of shootings involving specific gangs. Results: The focused deterrence strategy was associated with statistically significant reductions in total shootings by directly treated gangs and vicariously treated gangs. Conclusions: Our study finds that vicariously treated gangs were deterred by the treatment experiences of their rivals and allies. This suggests that focused deterrence strategies can generate spillover crime reduction effects to gangs that are socially connected to directly treated gangs.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony A. Braga & Robert Apel & Brandon C. Welsh, 2013. "The Spillover Effects of Focused Deterrence on Gang Violence," Evaluation Review, , vol. 37(3-4), pages 314-342, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:evarev:v:37:y:2013:i:3-4:p:314-342
    DOI: 10.1177/0193841X13518535
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0193841X13518535
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0193841X13518535?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
    2. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1994. "Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(4), pages 772-793, September.
    3. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    4. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    5. Anthony Braga & Andrew Papachristos & David Hureau, 2012. "Hot spots policing effects on crime," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 1-96.
    6. Guido W. Imbens, 2004. "Nonparametric Estimation of Average Treatment Effects Under Exogeneity: A Review," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 4-29, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kamdem, Cyrille Bergaly, 2016. "Impact of cocoa farmer field schools on cocoa yield: empirical evidence of cocoa farmers in Cameroon," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246388, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    2. Andrea Ichino & Fabrizia Mealli & Tommaso Nannicini, 2008. "From temporary help jobs to permanent employment: what can we learn from matching estimators and their sensitivity?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 305-327.
    3. repec:mpr:mprres:5702 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Eliasson, Kent, 2006. "How Robust is the Evidence on the Returns to College Choice? Results Using Swedish Administrative Data," Umeå Economic Studies 692, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    5. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    6. Jun Hyung Kim & Yu Kyung Koh & Jinseong Park, 2023. "Mental Health Consequences of Working from Home during the Pandemic," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 18-50, January.
    7. Christian Volpe Martincus, 2010. "Odyssey in International Markets: An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Export Promotion in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 16458, February.
    8. Loi, Massimo & Rodrigues, Margarida, 2012. "A note on the impact evaluation of public policies: the counterfactual analysis," MPRA Paper 42444, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Helena Holmlund & Olmo Silva, 2014. "Targeting Noncognitive Skills to Improve Cognitive Outcomes: Evidence from a Remedial Education Intervention," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(2), pages 126-160.
    10. Anne Stevenot & Loris Guery & Geoffrey Wood & Chris Brewster, 2018. "Country of Origin Effects and New Financial Actors: Private Equity Investment and Work and Employment Practices of French Firms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 859-881, December.
    11. Tommaso Nannicini, 2007. "Simulation-based sensitivity analysis for matching estimators," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(3), pages 334-350, September.
    12. Steve Bradley & Giuseppe Migali & Jim Taylor, 2013. "Funding, School Specialization, and Test Scores: An Evaluation of the Specialist Schools Policy Using Matching Models," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(1), pages 76-106.
    13. Baris Ucar & Gianni Betti, 2016. "The effect of a newborn on household poverty: a multi-indicator analysis," Department of Economics University of Siena 742, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    14. Verena Lauber & Johanna Storck, 2016. "Helping with the Kids? How Family-Friendly Workplaces Affect Parental Well-Being and Behavior," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 883, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    15. Zhenguo Lin & Yingchun Liu & Jia Xie, 2015. "Immigrants and Mortgage Delinquency in the United States," Staff Working Papers 15-1, Bank of Canada.
    16. Oberst, Christian A. & Schmitz, Hendrik & Madlener, Reinhard, 2019. "Are Prosumer Households That Much Different? Evidence From Stated Residential Energy Consumption in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 101-115.
    17. Luis Aranda, 2013. "Doubling Up: A Gift or a Shame? Multigenerational Households and Parental Depression of Older Europeans," Working Papers 2013:29, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari", revised 2013.
    18. Arpino, Bruno & Mealli, Fabrizia, 2011. "The specification of the propensity score in multilevel observational studies," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 1770-1780, April.
    19. Lars Thiel, 2015. "Leave the Drama on the Stage: The Effect of Cultural Participation on Health," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 767, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    20. Wendimu, Mengistu Assefa & Henningsen, Arne & Gibbon, Peter, 2016. "Sugarcane Outgrowers in Ethiopia: “Forced” to Remain Poor?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 84-97.
    21. Cynthia Holmes & Jia Xie, 2018. "Distortions in Real Estate Transactions with Out-of-State Participants," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 592-617, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:evarev:v:37:y:2013:i:3-4:p:314-342. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.