Map: The most-stolen vehicle in every state
22 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: economics of crime
Judge calls for tourists to sit driving test – National – NZ Herald News
18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, economics of regulation, human capital, law and economics
Speaking through an interpreter, Judge Phillips told Sun his driving was “nothing short of atrocious”.
“You were all over the road for no reason, you were drifting around corners, cutting corners and crossing the centre line.
“It’s a classic case of why people need to have examinations done before taking control of powerful rental cars on New Zealand roads.”
I don’t think a driver’s test would fix this obviously irresponsible driver of his lack of regard for the safety of others. He does not have a skill gap as a driver. He is just plain irresponsible.
via Judge calls for tourists to sit driving test – National – NZ Herald News.
Richard A. Posner – Our Domestic Intelligence Crisis
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Richard Posner, war and peace Tags: national security, privacy, Richard Posner, security and intelligence, terrorism
The impact of the burglar resistant locks and windows on burglary rates
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, law and economics, occupational choice Tags: crime and punishment, economics of crime
The Dutch government mandated the use of burglar-resistant locks and window and door frames in all new residential construction as of January 1, 1999. The regulation has now affected close to a million homes. The security was built-in and did not require any change in behaviour.
Figure 1:. Victimisation of burglary by year of construction of the home, the Netherlands
When comparing homes built just before and just after the change in the regulation, Vollaard and Van Ours (2011) found that homes with the built-in security to have a 26% lower rate of burglary.
The Economics of Crime and the Law| Levitt, Landes, Mulligan and Peltzman reflect on Gary Becker’s legacy
14 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, Gary Becker, history of economic thought, law and economics, property rights Tags: Gary Becker, Sam Peltzman
Robert Hare is the world’s leading expert on psychopathy – part one: on psychopaths being untreatable
13 Nov 2014 1 Comment
in economics of crime Tags: psychopathy, Robert Hare
How to spot law-abiding people with DUI convictions
10 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime Tags: crime and punishment
Fraudster Alan Knight jailed for £40,000 scam after pretending to be in a coma for two years | Daily Mail Online
08 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, welfare reform Tags: crime and punishment
doctors spotted Knight – pictured with wife, Helen – eating, wiping his face and writing while he was in hospital for observations
How to cut prison numbers | vox
26 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economics of crime, labour economics, occupational choice Tags: economics of crime, three strikes laws
The idea of selective incapacitation is to make a distinction between offenders with a high and a low propensity to commit crime.
Figure 1. Average rate of theft from car and domestic burglary – pre and post-introduction of the Dutch habitual offender law
Note: Plotted coefficients show the average crime rate relative to the month preceding introduction of the habitual offender law. The bars show the 95% confidence intervals. Based on monthly data for 31 cities during 1998-2007.
A habitual offender law adopted in the Netherlands in 2001 (Vollaard 2012). Only offenders with ten or more offenses on their criminal record faced enhanced prison-terms.
Between 2001 and 2007, 1,400 mostly non-violent, relatively old and invariably drug-addicted offenders were sentenced under the law. They accounted for 5% of the prison population. The law implied sentence enhancements of some 1,000%, typically a two-year rather than a two-month sentence for the affected offender population.
These sentence enhancements resulted in a 25% drop in acquisitive crime – the crimes that the affected offenders committed. The law did not have an impact on violent and sexual crimes, offenses that were rarely committed by the affected offenders.
Making the length of prison sentences more dependent on prior criminal records is a cost-effective crime policy. The Dutch policy affected only 5% of the prison population, but reduced property crime rates by 25% to 40%.
British terrorists bought ‘Islam for Dummies’ book before travelling to Syria to join rebel fighters in jihad
23 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, politics, war and peace Tags: economics of oppositional identities, The war on terror
Two British terrorists who fled the UK to fight in Syria ordered Islam For Dummies, The Koran For Dummies and Arabic For Dummies from Amazon ahead of their trip.
After eight months fighting in Syria they were arrested on their return to Heathrow Airport in January after their relatives tipped off counter-terrorism detectives.
They told officers they had been doing humanitarian work but a camera including images of them posing with guns on the front line, was found in their luggage. Traces of ‘military-grade explosives’, including TNT and nitro-glycerine were on the men’s clothes and trainers.
Each admitted one count of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorism acts contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act. They pleaded guilty after the judge indicated a reduced sentence if they were to plead guilty early in proceedings.
The families of both men put pressure on them to return to the UK once they discovered where they were.
HT: dailymail
Rational Criminals and Profit-Maximizing Police
15 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in David Friedman, economics of crime, entrepreneurship, law and economics Tags: David Friedman, economics of crime, Gary Becker
The share market speaks: the boom in marijuana shares
03 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, financial economics, industrial organisation Tags: marijuana decriminalisation, marijuana legalisation
Over the past two years, investors bid up penny stocks, which are stocks that trade for less than $5 a share, for marijuana from a $500,000 market to more than $7 billion.
The sale and use of marijuana is now approved for medical purposes in 22 states and the District of Columbia and is legal for recreational sales in Colorado and Washington state.
Among those will have to put their money where their mouth is, their entrepreneurial forecast is marijuana legalisation is only going to spread and the legal marijuana market is going to grow. Florida will vote on legalizing medical marijuana, and recent polls suggest the measure has the support needed to pass.
In February 2014, President Obama signed a law that allows states to experiment with industrial hemp. In response, 17 states have removed barriers to hemp production.
HT: Vox.com/marijuana-legalization-maps-charts-facts and https://twitter.com/business/status/479287579263524864
What the jihadists who bought “Islam for Dummies” tell us about radicalisation
10 Sep 2014 1 Comment
in economics, economics of crime, labour economics, occupational choice Tags: economics of oppositional identities, Jihadists, Terrorism is an occupational choice
Sarwar and Ahmed, who pleaded guilty to terrorism offences, purchased Islam for Dummies and The Koran for Dummies. MI5’s behavioural science unit found that
“far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practise their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could . . . be regarded as religious novices.” The analysts concluded that “a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation”
Most evidence point to moral outrage, disaffection, peer pressure, the search for a new identity, for a sense of belonging and purpose as drivers of radicalisation. Anthropologist Scott Atran pointed out in testimony to the US Senate in March 2010:
“. . . what inspires the most lethal terrorists in the world today is not so much the Quran or religious teachings as a thrilling cause and call to action that promises glory and esteem in the eyes of friends, and through friends, eternal respect and remembrance in the wider world”. He described wannabe jihadists as “bored, underemployed, overqualified and underwhelmed” young men for whom “jihad is an egalitarian, equal-opportunity employer . . . thrilling, glorious and cool”.
Chris Morris, the writer and director of the 2010 black comedy Four Lions – which satirised the ignorance, incompetence and sheer banality of British Muslim jihadists – said:
Terrorism is about ideology, but it’s also about berks.
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