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American Economic Review: Vol. 101 No. 5 (August 2011)

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Panic on the Streets of London: Police, Crime, and the July 2005 Terror Attacks

Article Citation

Draca, Mirko, Stephen Machin, and Robert Witt. 2011. "Panic on the Streets of London: Police, Crime, and the July 2005 Terror Attacks." American Economic Review, 101(5): 2157-81.

DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.5.2157

Abstract

In this paper we study the causal impact of police on crime, looking at what happened to crime and police before and after the terror attacks that hit central London in July 2005. The attacks resulted in a large redeployment of police officers to central London as compared to outer London. During this time, crime fell significantly in central relative to outer London. The instrumental variable approach we use uncovers an elasticity of crime with respect to police of approximately -0.3 to -0.4, so that a 10 percent increase in police activity reduces crime by around 3 to 4 percent. JEL: K42

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Authors

Draca, Mirko (Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics)
Machin, Stephen (U College London and Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics)
Witt, Robert (U Surrey)

JEL Classifications

K42: Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law


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