Crime Rate Is Lower in Most ‘Prison Cities’
California cities with prisons tend to have lower crime rates than comparable cities without prisons. And a prison located near a city has no significant effect on property values, says a Senate Office of Research study released Friday.
Jerry Hawes, the consultant who made the study, said that while prisons do not deter crime, neither do they attract a criminal element.
In seven major felony categories, the study showed the average crime rate for seven cities associated with prisons was 22% below the average crime rate for 15 similar cities without prisons.
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