How do close-circuit television cameras impact crimes and clearances? An evaluation of the Milwaukee police department’s public surveillance system

ABSTRACT

This study uses quasi-experimental analyses to estimate the effectiveness of police-operated CCTV cameras in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Most studies have focused on how cameras can deter crime. But, like many other agencies, the Milwaukee Police Department strategically deployed their cameras in high-crime, high-traffic intersections to aid criminal investigations. Thus, this study examines the impact of CCTV cameras on crimes and crime clearances. We also examine the differential impacts of CCTV in three treatment groups: all intersections that received a new camera, intersections where new cameras were installed alongside existing cameras, and intersections where only new cameras were installed. We used propensity score matching to create comparison groups of camera-free intersections, then employed difference-in-differences estimation with negative binomial and Poisson panel regression models to determine whether CCTV cameras have an impact on various categories of crimes and clearances. Despite overall crime declines in Milwaukee during the study period, we found that treatment intersections experienced more crimes post-intervention than comparison areas, likely because camera operators were using them to detect incidents that would have otherwise gone unreported. We also found limited evidence that CCTV cameras improve clearances.

KEYWORDS:

• CCTV
• camera
• police
• crime
• arrest
• clearance

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Award No. 2015-R2-CX-K002, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at urban.org/fundingprinciples. We would like to thank staff from the Milwaukee Police Department, especially Sgt. Adam Grochowski, who played a significant role working with the researchers for this study. We also want to thank our colleagues Rochisha Shukla, for her contribution to data collection that informed this study, and Paige Thompson and Roderick Taylor for their contributions to the literature review.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice [2015-R2-CX-K002].

Notes on contributors

Lily Robin

Lily Robin, MPP is a research analyst in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute where she works on research projects related to public safety and policing, criminal case processing, and risk assessment. Prior to joining the Urban Institute, Lily worked in criminal justice research and technical assistance with a focus on law enforcement. Lily also has paralegal and investigations experience in civil law and juvenile public defense. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from George Washington University and a BA focused on the school-to-prison pipeline from New York University.

Bryce E. Peterson

Bryce E. Peterson, PhD is a principal research associate in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. His research focuses on correctional policy, children of justice-involved parents, prison population forecasting, and technological interventions in criminal justice settings. He was a Co-Principal Investigator on this project.

Daniel S. Lawrence

Daniel S. Lawrence, PhD in Criminology, Law, and Justice, is a principal research associate in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. His research interests include police technology, police legitimacy and procedural justice, police screening and hiring practices, and community policing. Dr. Lawrence received his MA and PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was a Co-Principal Investigator on this project.