Police-Monitored Cameras and Crime

We study the impact of police monitoring on crime. We exploit detailed information on location and exact date of installation of police-monitored surveillance cameras coupled with daily data at the street-segment level on all... [ view full abstract ]

We study the impact of police monitoring on crime. We exploit detailed information on location and exact date of installation of police-monitored surveillance cameras coupled with daily data at the street-segment level on all reported crimes in a city of 1.5 million of inhabitants (Montevideo, Uruguay). We find that the introduction of police-monitored surveillance cameras reduces crime by 30 percent in monitored areas relative to un-monitored areas of the city. Results are robust to alternative definitions of the control group. A series of placebo experiments reassure that the findings have a causal interpretation. We present evidence that the reduction in crime in police monitored areas of the city is compensated by an increase in crime in other areas of the city thus suggesting the presence of crime displacement.