In October 2008, The U.S. Department of Justice released a study titled "Foreclosures and Crime: A Geographical Perspective".

Authored by Ronald E. Wilson (National Institute of Justice) and Derek J. Paulson (Eastern Kentucky University) the study includes:

• Michael Bess of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department describes a study his department conducted to examine foreclosures and their consequences in the Charlotte area.
• Erin Dalton, of the Department of Human Services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, discusses how geographic information systems can be used to advise policy decisions related to the foreclosure crisis.
• Several news stories providing an overview of how the foreclosure crisis has brought on problems in many cities across the nation.
• Discussion using the broken windows theory to demonstrate that cities experiencing blight and disorder as a result of foreclosures should react quickly, before the problem escalates.
• An article by Louis Tuthill of the National Institute of Justice describes the basics of what this theory entails.
• A technical piece by Phil Mielke of the Redlands (California) Police Department demonstrates how to use geographic information systems to invigorate efforts to remove blight and graffiti in a city.
• Kurt Smith of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department provides a practitioners’ review of a new book that examines the theories of broken windows and collective efficacy from the vantage point of hardcore criminals.

To view the study in its entirety, please click here.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 500 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.