Human knowledge: Familiarity with police officers could reduce crime

 
Nature will publish a treatise suggesting that providing locals with information about police officers in charge of the area could reduce crime rates.From the results of laboratory studies and field surveys, our sense of anonymity depends not only on what others know about themselves, but also on what they know about others. It was suggested that they were doing it.

Social relationships with others are often thought to be symmetrical, but not always.Now, Anuj Shah and Michael LaForest conduct standard in-laboratory psychological studies to believe that as they become more familiar with others, they know more about themselves. Clarified that there is a possibility of becoming.It is possible that our sense of anonymity may be diminished and we may have an over-recognition that our thoughts and actions may be revealed to others.Previous studies have suggested that recognizing that one's anonymity is maintained may lead to increased dishonest and harmful behavior, but others are familiar with themselves. If you become accustomed to your behavior, you may be able to reduce some of the negative effects of your sense of anonymity on your behavior.

The authors selected 69 public housing estates in New York City, USA, to elucidate how the asymmetry of social relationships revealed in laboratory experiments affects people's perceptions and behaviors. Thirty-nine locations provided residents with information about local police officers (favorite food, favorite sports teams, hobbies, etc.), and the remaining 39 locations did not intervene as a control group.Next, the authors conducted a survey of 30 residents to understand what police officers knew about themselves and what police officers would know if they were guilty. We evaluated the perception of how likely it was to do so.The authors estimated that the number of crimes in the three months immediately following the intervention was about 1858-3% lower in areas that received information about police officers than in areas that did not.The rate of reduction in this crime was comparable to increasing the number of police officers in the same area.

The authors came to think that residents who became more familiar with local police officers were able to better understand their illegal activities, and as a result, the criminal behavior of the residents. Shows the idea that may be suppressed.This explains why police officers' home visits are more effective in reducing crime than other community security activities (eg, crime prevention and over-the-counter security with the help of community solidarity and local police). May be useful.The authors need broader reforms to reduce security racial and ethnic disparities and increase confidence in police, but provide the community with more information about local police officers. He argues that may be one way to reduce crime.

 
* This article is reprinted from "Nature Japan Featured Highlights".
Reprinted from: "Human Behavior: The more you know about local police officers, the less crime you may have'