Journal article
Expanding the focus of correctional evaluations beyond recidivism: the impact of halfway houses on public safety
Journal of experimental criminology, v 14(2)
01 Jun 2018
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
This article reports the findings of a quasi-experimental evaluation of the impact of residential halfway houses (HHs) on public safety in the immediate vicinity of the facilities.
Instead of focusing on recidivism reduction or cost effectiveness, as is common, outcome measures for this study are limited to the impact on community crime rates, here defined as offenses committed within 1/8 and 1/4 mi radii around a subject facility. A set of fixed effect Poisson regression models were employed to assess the changes in monthly crime counts associated with the opening or closing of an HH (N = 19). A second difference-in-differences analysis (DiD) compares HHs that ceased operation to HHs that remained consistently open for the duration of the study period. A series of robustness checks were conducted.
We find the presence of an active HH is associated with an increase in crime within the immediate vicinity. We identify significant increases in monthly counts of overall crimes reported to law enforcement, as well as in counts for specific crimes of violence, including assaults and robberies with a firearm; property offenses, such as burglary; and in minor and misdemeanor offenses. A closing of an HH is associated with a decrease in reported crimes.
The location of a community-based correctional facility can have a significant and negative impact on public health, largely through decreased levels of local public safety. Evaluations of residential correctional programs should include indicators of community-level impact in addition to individual-level measures of recidivism, particularly when such programs are clustered in at-risk or vulnerable communities.
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Details
- Title
- Expanding the focus of correctional evaluations beyond recidivism: the impact of halfway houses on public safety
- Creators
- Jordan M. Hyatt - Drexel UniversitySeungHoon Han - Chung-Ang University
- Publication Details
- Journal of experimental criminology, v 14(2)
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 25
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Criminology and Justice Studies
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000434909600004
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85046775335
- Other Identifier
- 991019169004404721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Criminology & Penology