3 policies for reducing

crime and violence

without gun control
How to solve the crime rate of US in a suitable and legal way
Introduction
● O n a night of the Republican convention focused on " making America saf e again, " one question,
st rangely, went unanswered: How exact ly could policymakers make America saf er? Although
Americans are in f act saf er than they were decades ago, this seems like a prett y crucial question
t o answer giv en t he f irst day of the convention's theme.

● W hat nonpart is an policies can Am erica use to reduce crime and gun violence without going af ter
t he guns thems elves? I st art ed with the assumption that gun cont rol laws would not happen, since
t hat issue is t oo polit ically f raught — and it's certainly not somet hing Republicans seem likely to
support.

● Alt hough there's s trong evidence that America's uniquely high levels of gun ownership cause t he
US t o have more violence than ot her developed countries, guns aren't the only cause of violence
and c rime — t here are other factors, from cultural issues to socioeconomic variables to even
smaller is sues like alcohol consumpt ion, that drive these problems.

● These policy ideas give som e perspect ive on how many opt ions are lef t to local, st at e, and federal
lawmakers as long as t hey don't want t o do anyt hing about guns — or maybe even if they do.
 Stricter alcohol policies
● Alcohol has been linked to violence. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence,
alcohol is a factor in 40 percent of violent crimes. And a 2010 study found a strong relationship between
alcohol stores and gun assaults. These statistics and research are one of the big reasons that possessing a
gun while drunk is largely illegal.

● Solutions could be one of the below:

● A higher alcohol tax: A 2010 review of the research in the American Journal of Public Health came out with strong
findings: "Our results suggest that doubling the alcohol tax would reduce alcohol-related mortality by an average of
3 5 % , t r a f f i c c r a s h d e a t h s b y 11 % , s e x u a l l y t r a n s m i t t e d d i s e a s e b y 6 % , v i o l e n c e b y 2 % , a n d c r i m e b y 1 . 4 % . "

● Reducing the number of alcohol outlets : A 2009 review published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine
also found that limiting the number of alcohol outlets — through, for example, stricter licensing — in an area can
l i m i t p r o b l e m a t i c d r i n k i n g a n d i t s d a n g e r s . B u t i t a l s o f o u n d t h a t g o i n g t o o f a r c a n h a v e n e g a t i v e r e s u l t s — b y, f o r
example, causing more car crashes as people take long drives to outlets and possibly drink before returning home.

● Revoking alcohol offenders' right to drink : South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety program effectively revokes people's right
t o d r i n k i f a c o u r t d e e m s i t n e c e s s a r y a f t e r a n a l c o h o l - r e l a t e d o f f e n s e . T h e p r o g r a m , s p e c i f i c a l l y, m o n i t o r s o f f e n d e r s
through twice-a-day breathalyzer tests or a bracelet that can track blood alcohol level, and jails them for one or two
d a y s f o r e a c h f a i l e d t e s t . S t u d i e s f r o m t h e R A N D C o r p o r a t i o n h a v e l i n k e d t h e p r o g r a m t o d r o p s i n m o r t a l i t y, D U I
arrests, and domestic violence arrests.

● This policies won’t require any more things 、 manpower or budget.

Raise the age or grade for dropping out of school

● Ano th er w ay to red uce crime and viol ence coul d be to keep kid s in scho ol long er.

● The res earch is quit e clear that kids who don't drop out and complet e school are less likely to
commit crim e.

● A recent study publis hed in t he American Economic Journal t ook an ingenious approach t o cut
t hrough this ques tion — by t apping into data f or student s in North Carolina, t heir birt hdays, when
t hey enroll in kindergarten, their dropout rat es, and their crime rates. It f ound that keeping kids in
sc hool longer likely reduces crime.

● The st udy looked at dat a based on when children begin t heir education and whether t he older
children in a clas s — t hose who were enrolled into kindergarten at an older age — were more
likely to drop out and commit crime. T he idea: T hese kids are generally enrolled at a later age due
t o a technicalit y in North Carolina rules about birthdays and cut off dat es, so there's no inherent
reason to think their behavior should be different — unless t heir time in school influences it.

● THE STUDY ST RON GLY SUG GESTS KEEPI NG KIDS I N SCHO O L WI LL REDUCE THEI R CRI ME
RATES

● This polic ies won’t require any more t hings 、 manpower or budget .
Eliminate blighted housing
● Clean up and repair blighted buildings.

● A 2015 study from Branas, who's part of the Urban Health Lab, and other researchers found fixing up
abandoned and vacant buildings in Philadelphia led to significant drops in overall crimes, total assaults, gun
assaults, and nuisance crimes. There was no evidence that crime shifted to other areas, although there were
s i g n s t h a t d r u g d e a li n g , d r u g p o s s e s s i o n , a n d p r o p e r t y c r i m e s w e n t u p a r o u n d r e m e d i a t e d b u i l d i n g s . S t i l l , n e t
gains overall.

● Branas characterized the findings as proof of a big gain for a pretty small investment.

● "I T M A K E S T H E S PA C E A P P E A R C A R E D F O R , A N D S U D D E N LY C R I M I N A L A C T I V I T Y D O E S N ' T WA N T TO
HAPPEN THERE"

● S a m e k i n d o f P o l i c y a l r e a d y e x i s t . I t ’s c a l l e d t h e H a r d e s t H i t F u n d s ( H H F ) .

● Federally-funded in 2010

● P r o v id e d $ 7 . 6 b i l l i o n t o 1 8 s t a t e s h i t t h e h a r d e s t b y t h e e c o n o m y / h o u s i n g m a r k e t .

● F u n d l o c a l f o r e c l o s u r e p r e v e n t i o n a n d n e i g h b o r h o o d s t a b i l i z a t i o n e ff o r t s

● A s r e f e r e n c e , w e c a n r e c k o n t h a t t h e p r o b a b l e t o t a l c o s t o f e l i m i n a t i n g b li g h t e d h o u s i n g o f w h o l e c o u n t r i e s
could be around $21.1 billion.

● T h i s p o l i c i e s m a y n e e d t o r e q u i r e s o m e m o r e m a n p o w e r t o s u p e r v i s e a n d m a n a g e t h e p r o j e c t o f t h e p o l i c y, a n d
THANKS FOR WATCHING