Overview of: "The effects of local immigration enforcement on crime and disorder: A case study of Prince William County, Virginia"

Abstract

This study evaluates a local immigration enforcement policy implemented in Prince William County, Virginia, in 2008. In addition to joining the federal 287(g) program, the County adopted a policy that initially required officers to check the immigration status of people they detained, but the policy was later amended to require immigration checks only for arrestees. Using a pre-post, quasi-experimental design, we examined the policy's impacts on crime reports and calls for service in Prince William County and compared the County's crime trends with those of nearby localities. We also analyzed postpolicy trends in arrests of illegal immigrants, survey reports of crime victimization and reporting among County residents, and survey reports of police views on crime and disorder in the County. Although the policy did not affect most forms of crime in Prince William County (including robberies, property crimes, drug offenses, disorderly behaviors, and drunk driving violations), aggravated assaults declined 27% after the announcement of the original policy in July 2007. However, this initial version of the policy also seemed to harm police relations with the immigrant community, among other problems. © 2013 American Society of Criminology.