IP Democracy: Violent Films Keep Criminals Off the Streets

A recently released study suggests that contrary to some research, violent films actually reduce violent crime...because the act of attending theaters keeps criminals off the mean streets. Gordon Dahl, an economist at the University of California, San Diego, and Stefano DellaVigna, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, presented a paper (PDF here) outlining their study at the American Economics Association meeting in New Orleans this past weekend.

Remarkably, the two academics even quantify how much less crime takes place because "Hostel 3" is raking in the dough at the cineplex. The two say that that in "the short-run violent movies deter almost 1,000 assaults on an average weekend.

It's not that the films are carthatic or provide an mental outlet for violent impulses. It's that by going to the movies, criminals are subject to "voluntary incapacitation," meaning they can't engage in mischief if they're stuck in theaters and violent films draw more than their fair share of violent people. More importantly, Dahl and DellaVigna say, would-be offenders typically can't consume alcohol while watching movies.

We find that violent crime decreases on days with larger theater audiences for violent movies. The effect is partly due to voluntary incapacitation: between 6PM and 12AM, a one million increase in the audience for violent movies reduces violent crime by 1.1 to 1.3 percent. After exposure to the movie, between 12AM and 6AM, violent crime is reduced by an even larger percent. This finding is explained by the self-selection of violent individuals into violent movie attendance, leading to a substitution away from more volatile activities. In particular, movie attendance appears to reduce alcohol consumption.

Although I think the links between violent content and actual violence are tenuous at best, I had to laugh when I read about this research. Using this kind of reasoning, lots of things that distract violent people can be said to reduce crime. Taking showers, say, or researching the purchase of handguns on the Internet or even sleeping.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on January 7, 2008 10:04 AM to IP Democracy