Do Premises Liability Suits Promote Business Crime Prevention? (From Business and Crime Prevention, P 125-150, 1997, Marcus Felson and Ronald V Clarke, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 165680
• Author(s): J E Eck
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Three alternative models of how plaintiffs' attorneys and businesses might make decisions regarding premises liability and crime prevention are examined, with emphasis on their predictions of the consequences of premises liability lawsuits and on how research might test each model.

Abstract

The threat of premises liability cases against business has been alleged to motivate business to increase investment in crime prevention, thus increasing public safety. However, empirical data do not exist to demonstrate that premise liability lawsuits influence business investment and public safety. The three models describe the aggregate decisionmaking of plaintiffs' attorneys and business owners. The first model suggests that an equilibrium may exist that balances conflicting incentives and delivers an optimal level of prevention; the costs of crime are successfully internalized by place owners. The model asserts that the risk of being sued is proportional to the financial resources of the place owners. The third model considers the totality of circumstances. The models yield very different predictions for investment in crime prevention. Only one predicts that the threat of premises liability suits improves public safety, although all three models predict some increase in business crime prevention. A series of studies could be conducted to refute or confirm the models without directly estimating the relationships within the models. Table, figure, and 21 references (Author abstract modified)