Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

We examine the relationship between depression and PTSD symptomology and crime at a micro geographic level.  Using a NIDA supported study of crime hot spots we analyze a survey of  2700 respondents in four types of street segments: Violent crime hot spots; drug and violent crime hot spots, cool spots, and cold spots.  To examine the role of selection in the outcomes examined, we carry out a two-staged procedure involving first propensity score matching to identify appropriate comparison samples, and second a weighted regression controlling for relevant background factors.  We find that both PTSD and depression symptomology are significantly higher at violent crime hot spot street segments. Controlling for selection factors the differences are smaller but remain meaningful and statistically significant.  We discuss the implications of our findings for police practices at crime hot spots, and a recent Robert Wood Johnson program that builds upon these findings to advance community policing for mental health.