Evaluating Community Prosecution Code Enforcement in Dallas, Texas. (29th July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Worrall, John L.; Wheeler, Andrew P.
• Is Part Of: Justice quarterly. Volume 36:Number 5(2019)
• Page Start: 870
• Page End: 899
• Publication Date: 2019-07-29
• Subjects: community prosecution -- code enforcement; Criminal justice, Administration of -- Periodicals; Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States -- Periodicals; 340.11405
• DOI: 10.1080/07418825.2018.1438497
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0741-8825

Abstract

Abstract : We evaluated a community prosecution program in Dallas, Texas. City attorneys, who in Dallas are the chief prosecutors for specified misdemeanors, were paired with code enforcement officers to improve property conditions in a number of proactive focus areas, or PFAs, throughout the city. We conducted a panel data analysis, focusing on the effects of PFA activity on crime in 19 PFAs over a six-year period (monthly observations from 2010 to 2015). Control areas with similar levels of pre-intervention crime were also included. Statistical analyses controlled for pre-existing crime trends, seasonality effects, and other law enforcement activities. With and without dosage data, the total crime rate decreased in PFA areas relative to control areas. City attorney/code enforcement teams, by seeking the voluntary or court-ordered abatement of code violations and criminal activity at residential and commercial properties, apparently improved public safety in targeted areas.