The Sugar House Casino in Philadelphia opened in September 2010 after years of protests by community members who feared that casinos would lead to an increase in local crime. However, a new study by researchers at Drexel University and Temple University found that these concerns were unfounded.
The study, which examined changes in crime volume in neighborhoods since casinos opened using geolocation crime data, found that crime rates in the Fishtown area of Philadelphia were not significantly affected by the introduction of gaming facilities. The researchers found that no potentially serious crime increase occurred or was effectively controlled by the relocation of existing local police officers.
The study, titled “Partial Testing of Casino’s Impact on Neighborhood Crime,” was published online on June 30 by the Security Journal of Palgrave McMillan, a peer-reviewed journal for security researchers and experts. It is expected to be published in an upcoming print issue of the journal.
The study was conducted by Lallen T. Johnson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Drexel University’s School of Arts and Sciences, and Jerry H. Ratcliffe, a professor at Temple University and chair of the criminal justice department. 에볼루션 바카라사이트
“There was a lot of controversy and protests when the gaming industry arrived in the city of Philadelphia,” Johnson said. “Especially, anti-casino community activists and organizations believed that gambling would increase crime and disorder. The initial discussion about the arrival of Sugar House centered around whether the additional tax revenue would outweigh the social costs of increasing crime. While it is a reasonable concern, our findings suggest that these negative expectations did not work in this case.”
To investigate the crime-inducing effects at the neighborhood level of casinos in a localized urban environment, Johnson and Ratcliffe analyzed crime case data over the 96 months to determine how much the number of crimes changed within the Fishtown neighborhood after the casino’s opening. The researchers used the data to evaluate the impact of new casino developments on four crime types: neighborhood-level violent street felonies, vehicle crimes, residential robberies, and drug crimes.
“Previous studies on casinos and crime have considered the impact of gaming facilities on an entire city or county,” said Johnson. “On the other hand, this is the first study to examine how casinos affect crime at the local level. This is particularly important given that Sugar House is located near residential development. The study also looked into whether crime was moved to the surrounding area after its opening.”