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Does stop and search reduce crime? Evidence from street‐level data and a surge in operations following a high‐profile crime

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  • Nils Braakmann

Abstract

This paper uses a surge in stop and search operations following a high‐profile murder to look at their effect on recorded crime. Difference‐in‐difference estimates using detailed geocoded data at the street‐level suggest a doubling to trebling of the number of searches in streets close to the place of the murder. IV estimates on the effects of stops and searches on crime suggest little effect on property crime, weapons offences and violent crime or drug offences. Some specifications find reductions in anti‐social behaviour, suggesting that any effects on crime are due to an increased police presence on the streets.

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  • Nils Braakmann, 2022. "Does stop and search reduce crime? Evidence from street‐level data and a surge in operations following a high‐profile crime," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1370-1397, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:185:y:2022:i:3:p:1370-1397
    DOI: 10.1111/rssa.12839
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    Cited by:

    1. Nils Braakmann, 2023. "Residential turnover and crime—Evidence from administrative data for England and Wales," The British Journal of Criminology, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, vol. 63(6), pages 1460-1481.
    2. Wildman, John & Wildman, Josephine M., 2023. "Impact of a link worker social prescribing intervention on non-elective admitted patient care costs: A quasi-experimental study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    3. repec:osf:socarx:ubf7m_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Papps, Kerry L., 2025. "Why Higher Pay Leads to More Crime," IZA Discussion Papers 17989, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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