David Abrams
David Abrams is Professor of Law, Business Economics, and Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Voting History
Policing and public safety
Increasing police budgets will improve public safety.
| Vote | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 6 |
| Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 7 |
Increasing social service budgets (e.g. housing, health, education) will improve public safety.
| Vote | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 7 |
| Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 8 |
Comments
As with policing, it depends how the money is spent. There is great evidence that expenditures on early childhood education have numerous long-run benefits, including on public safety. But there no doubt are social service expenditures that have little to no value.
Increasing accountability for police misconduct will improve public safety.
| Vote | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Neutral/No Opinion | 5 |
| Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 6 |
Comments
I don't know of good evidence on the impact of increasing police accountability. I strongly believe that in the long run it will improve policing (which is not identical to improving public safety) although it could have a short-run negative impact on public safety depending on how it is implemented.
Comments
It depends on how the money is spent. There is good evidence that police presence reduces crime. But a great deal of police activity is of uncertain utility (like police stops) and racially disparate policing may undermine confidence in police and reduce public safety in the long run.