Substance abuse treatment centers and local crime

Bondurant, Samuel R.; Lindo, Jason M.; Swensen, Isaac D.

doi:10.1016/j.jue.2018.01.007

Cited by 79 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…It is important to stress that 24/7 does not require participants to enter treatment or engage in other services; this seems to be largely a deterrent effect, although one mechanism through which that deterrence might work is giving participants a reason to seek treatment on their own, whether paid professional treatment or self-help (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous). The availability of substance abuse treatment facilities in communities has been found to reduce both drug-induced mortality (Swensen 2015) and both violent and acquisitive crime (Bondurant, Lindo, and Swensen 2018). Without stronger understanding of the mechanism resulting in reduced alcohol consumption and crime through 24/7, we cannot assess the degree to which the program is a cost-effective substitute for substance abuse treatment or specialty courts for some participants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Certainty and Celerity to Deter Crime

Kilmer¹,

Midgette²

2019

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R® is a registered trademark Limited Print and Electronic Distribution RightsThis document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html.The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution atWhether a sanction will deter criminal behavior is a function of three elements: certainty, severity and celerity. Modern punishment policy has disproportionately focused on ratcheting up sanction severity in order to induce deterrence. Policymakers now increasingly look to policies that increase the certainty and celerity of punishment as an alternative to the high costs of more severe sanctions. South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety Program is a novel, large-scale intervention requiring those arrested for or convicted of an alcohol-related offense to be tested for alcohol abstention compliance multiple times daily. Failing or missing a test results in a swift, certain, and moderate sanction. To estimate the causal effect of 24/7 on the probability of rearrest or probation revocation, we instrument for individual participation using program availability in the county of arrest. Results show that the probability of rearrest or probation revocation is 49 percent lower (p=0.002) for 24/7 participants than non-participants 12 months after their initial DUI arrest, and we detect substantive effects at 24 and 36 months, though the precision depends on the model specification. These findings provide evidence that it is possible to create a credible and effective deterrent threat on a large scale by prioritizing sanction certainty and celerity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Certainty and Celerity to Deter Crime

Kilmer¹,

Midgette²

2019

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“…For the public insurance variable, which is continuous, how best to test parallel trends is less clear as there is no specific event, rather states increase, and in some cases decrease, income thresholds. We follow recent work by Bondurant, Lindo, and Swensen (2018) and Swensen (2015) and include the policy measured the years before (t-1) and after (t+1) the current period (Appendix Tables 14A to 14B). If we observe that the coefficient estimates on the policy variable measured in the t-1 period are statistically indistinguishable from zero, this pattern of results would provide suggestive evidence that our data satisfy parallel trends.…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Insurance Expansions and Children’s Use of Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Hamersma

Maclean²

2018

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We provide the first evidence on the effects of expansions to private and public insurance programs on children's use of specialty substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. We combine administrative government data over the period 1996 to 2017 with quasi-experimental differences-in-differences methods to study this question. Expansions of the private marketlaws that compel insurers to cover SUD treatment services as parity with general healthcareincrease admissions by 21%. Increases in admissions are driven by patients with private coverage and receiving outpatient care. The number of admissions of patients with no insurance also increases following parity law adoption. There is mixed evidence on changes in admissions following a public insurance expansion that increases the income eligibility thresholds for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

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“…The third reason is that Medicaid increases access to treatment for those suffering from behavioral disorders or drug addiction. A large body of research has shown that substance abuse treatment is effective at reducing crime and recidivism (e.g., Bondurant et al, 2018;Campbell et al, 2007;Deck et al, 2009;Lurigio, 2000;Marsch, 1998;Mitchell et al, 2007;Prendergast et al, 2002), and although the literature on the effect of mental health treatment is less conclusive, it is suggestive of a small or moderate crime reduction (e.g., Cuellar et al, 2004;Evans Cuellar et al, 2006;Frank and McGuire, 2011;Constantine et al, 2012;Martin et al, 2012;Morrissey et al, 2007;Morrissey et al, 2016;Van Dorn et al, 2013). If Medicaid helps newly eligible individuals obtain treatment for mental health issues they would otherwise ignore (or treat less effectively), it could potentially induce a reduction in overall crime rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of health insurance on crime: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion

Barkowski

2020

Health Economics

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Little evidence exists on the effect of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on criminal behavior, a gap in the literature that this paper seeks to address. Using a simple model, we argue we should anticipate a decrease in time devoted to criminal activities in response to the expansion, because the availability of the ACA Medicaid coverage raises the opportunity cost of crime. This prediction is particularly relevant for the ACA expansion because it primarily affects childless adults, a population likely to contain individuals who engage in criminal behavior. We validate this forecast empirically using a difference-in-differences framework, estimating the expansion's effects on panel datasets of state-and county-level crime rates. Our estimates suggest that the ACA Medicaid expansion was negatively associated with burglary, vehicle theft, homicide, robbery, and assault.These crime-reduction spillover effects represent an important offset to the government's cost burden for the ACA Medicaid expansion.

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Substance abuse treatment centers and local crime

Cited by 79 publications

References 50 publications

Using Certainty and Celerity to Deter Crime

Using Certainty and Celerity to Deter Crime

Insurance Expansions and Children’s Use of Substance Use Disorder Treatment

The effect of health insurance on crime: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion

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