Poster Paper:
Paying Direct Cash Reward to Deter Crime: Using the Expected Utility Theory to Measure the Amount of Cash Reward and Its Effect on Crime Deterrence Based on the Experience of Richmond, CA
Friday, April 7, 2017
George Mason University Schar School of Policy
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
In 2007 the city of Richmond in California initiated a program to pay criminals direct cash reward in order to keep them away from committing crime. The program paid $1,000 per month to a specific population of criminals which resulted in 60% reduction of firearm assaults and homicides. Since then, many other cities across the country have been curious to implement the same policy. But the question remains whether 1) Richmond’s model can be replicated in other cities to achieve crime deterrence? And 2) how much is the effective cash reward for achieving deterrence?
Was Richmond an anomaly, or is there enough proof to generalize this model and find a causal relationship between cash rewards and crime deterrence? In order to answer this question, we first have to determine the appropriate amount of the cash prize in order to make the policy effective. In an interview, one of the members of Richmond’s Operation Peacemaker Fellowship mentioned that the cash reward was mainly determined by rule of thumb and the available resources of the city. This research introduces a systematic approach to determine the appropriate amount of the cash prize by studying archival data. Since cost of living, available funding, socioeconomic conditions and the nature of crime differ from city to city, therefor replicating the exact parameters of Richmond’s case may not provide satisfactory results in another city. We use our model to determine the effective amount of cash reward for the same program in Washington, DC.
Was Richmond an anomaly, or is there enough proof to generalize this model and find a causal relationship between cash rewards and crime deterrence? In order to answer this question, we first have to determine the appropriate amount of the cash prize in order to make the policy effective. In an interview, one of the members of Richmond’s Operation Peacemaker Fellowship mentioned that the cash reward was mainly determined by rule of thumb and the available resources of the city. This research introduces a systematic approach to determine the appropriate amount of the cash prize by studying archival data. Since cost of living, available funding, socioeconomic conditions and the nature of crime differ from city to city, therefor replicating the exact parameters of Richmond’s case may not provide satisfactory results in another city. We use our model to determine the effective amount of cash reward for the same program in Washington, DC.
