Publication

Could a poster campaign help reduce criminal activity by altering the risk perception criminals have of being arrested? To find out, Enzo Nussio and Ervyn Norza Céspedes analyze the results of a trial of such a campaign in a high-crime area in Bogota, Colombia. Our authors find that during the trial period, levels of spontaneous crime remained unchanged and there was no significant alteration in overall crime levels. However, premeditated crime did go down and the perception among locals of security and police improved, though only slightly.