Empirical Analyses on Public Safety
type: CreativeWork
description: This dissertation presents three empirical analyses of the effects of local, state, and federal policy decisions on public safety. DNA databases are useful tools for improving public safety. While past research examines the effects of national or state-level databases, little is known about the distinct benefits of a local, District Attorney-run DNA database. Two key advantages of a local database are that (i) more local criminals submit a sample as part of a plea agreement (submission is not restricted to certain crimes and mandatory) and (ii) response times for identifying reoffenders from DNA evidence are shorter. Chapter 1 performs a retrospective benefit-cost analysis on the Orange County District Attorney's DNA database. The analysis is run on administrative records that provide costs, entries into the DNA database, and matches that occur between samples taken from a crime scene and individual profiles in the database. We also estimate the deterrence effect of entry into the database with defendant-case level data. We find that, for every dollar spent on operating the database over the last 10 years, \$1.71 is saved due to the estimated reduction in future offenses. Chapter 2 reexamines the effects of Right-to-Carry (RTC) and Permitless Carry (PC) laws on crime using new advances in difference-in-differences estimation and a comprehensive state-year panel from 1980 to 2020. We employ the doubly robust strategy of \citet{Callaway2020} and the imputation-based estimator of \citet{Borusyak2024}, which together address the limitations of conventional two-way fixed effects models with staggered policy adoption. Across specifications, RTC adoption is associated with a statistically significant increase of roughly 19\% in violent crime, while effects on homicide and property crime are smaller and less consistent. PC laws show no systematic or significant relationship with crime outcomes. Disaggregated estimates reveal considerable heterogeneity across adoption cohort…
abstract: This dissertation presents three empirical analyses of the effects of local, state, and federal policy decisions on public safety. DNA databases are useful tools for improving public safety. While past research examines the effects of national or state-level databases, little is known about the distinct benefits of a local, District Attorney-run DNA database. Two key advantages of a local database are that (i) more local criminals submit a sample as part of a plea agreement (submission is not restricted to certain crimes and mandatory) and (ii) response times for identifying reoffenders from DNA evidence are shorter. Chapter 1 performs a retrospective benefit-cost analysis on the Orange County District Attorney's DNA database. The analysis is run on administrative records that provide costs, entries into the DNA database, and matches that occur between samples taken from a crime scene and individual profiles in the database. We also estimate the deterrence effect of entry into the database with defendant-case level data. We find that, for every dollar spent on operating the database over the last 10 years, \$1.71 is saved due to the estimated reduction in future offenses. Chapter 2 reexamines the effects of Right-to-Carry (RTC) and Permitless Carry (PC) laws on crime using new advances in difference-in-differences estimation and a comprehensive state-year panel from 1980 to 2020. We employ the doubly robust strategy of \citet{Callaway2020} and the imputation-based estimator of \citet{Borusyak2024}, which together address the limitations of conventional two-way fixed effects models with staggered policy adoption. Across specifications, RTC adoption is associated with a statistically significant increase of roughly 19\% in violent crime, while effects on homicide and property crime are smaller and less consistent. PC laws show no systematic or significant relationship with crime outcomes. Disaggregated estimates reveal considerable heterogeneity across adoption cohort…
author: Quandt, Ryan
keywords: Applied microeconomics, Causal inference, Homelessness, Public safety, DNA databases, Economics
date published: 2025-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:41:17Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University