PUBLICATIONS BY David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
Research
Commentary
Media Appearances
2008 Research
September 26, 2008
COPS Reform: Why Congress Can't Make the COPS Program Work
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Brian W. Walsh
(Backgrounder #2188)
The COPS program has an extensive track record of poor performance and should be eliminated. Some Members of Congress propose resuscitating it with COPS 2.0. Congress should limit itself to asserting uniquely federal interests, starting with those that the Constitution clearly assigns to the national government. Effective policing at the state and local levels does not require funding from the federal government.
September 26, 2008
Executive Summary: COPS Reform: Why Congress Can't Make the COPS Program Work
By avid B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Brian W. Walsh
(Executive Summary #2188)
The COPS program has an extensive track record of poor performance and should be eliminated. Some Members of Congress propose resuscitating it with COPS 2.0. Congress should limit itself to asserting uniquely federal interests, starting with those that the Constitution clearly assigns to the national government. Effective policing at the state and local levels does not require funding from the federal government.
July 29, 2008
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Testimony #9999)
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary
June 11, 2008
Welfare Reform a Factor in Lower Voter Registration at Public Assistance Offices
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Patrick Tyrrell
(Center for Data Analysis Report #08-03)
While voter registrations at welfare offices have declined, this does not mean that former welfare recipients are not registering to vote. Low-income Americans have numerous and easy opportunities to register, just like other Americans, and many "voting rights" and "community mobilization" groups, along with political parties, are actively engaged in making sure that their constituents are registered to vote.
April 03, 2008
The Impact of Welfare Reform on Declining Public Assistance Voter Registrations
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Testimony #9999)
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 required states to allow eligible persons to register to vote at various government locations, including public assistance offices. Since the initial reporting period (1995–1996), the number of persons registering to vote at public assistance offices has declined. This trend has led some to speculate that the states are failing to provide welfare recipients the opportunity to register to vote at public assistance offices. The preliminary analysis reported here indicates that declining welfare caseloads after the 1996 reform made a substantial contribution to the decrease in public assistance voter registrations.
2007 Research
September 11, 2007
New Analysis Shows Voter Identification Laws Do Not Reduce Turnout
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Keri Weber Sikich
(Center for Data Analysis Report #07-04)
Controlling for factors that influence voter turnout, voter identification laws largely do not have the claimed negative impact on voter turnout based on state-to-state comparisons. When statistically significant and negative relationships are found, the effects are so small that the findings offer little policy significance.
August 28, 2007
The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Testimony #9999)
Capital punishment produces a strong deterrent effect that saves lives, and little evidence suggests that the death penalty treats minorities unfairly.
June 06, 2007
Executive Summary: Gang Crime: Effective and Constitutional Policies to Stop Violent Gangs
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Erica Little
(Executive Summary #LM20)
To address gang-related crime appropriately, the national government should adhere to federalist principles and limit itself to tasks that are within its constitutionally designed sphere and that state and local governments are not well situated to perform. State and local governments are the most appropriate level of government to develop policies to prevent and suppress most gang-related crime.
June 06, 2007
Gang Crime: Effective and Constitutional Policies to Stop Violent Gangs
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Erica Little
(Legal Memorandum #20)
To address gang-related crime appropriately, the national government should adhere to federalist principles and limit itself to tasks that are within its constitutionally designed sphere and that state and local governments are not well situated to perform. State and local governments are the most appropriate level of government to develop policies to prevent and suppress most gang-related crime.
March 14, 2007
Federal Law Enforcement Grants and Crime Rates: No Connection Except for Waste and Abuse
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Erica Little
(Backgrounder #2015)
Despite the claims of some mayors and police chiefs that crime will worsen if Congress does not restore funding for local police officer salaries and related expenses that has been reduced in recent years, such funding would have little effect on the nation’s rising crime rates and would instead contribute to the overfederalization of the criminal justice system.
February 28, 2007
Job Corps: A Consistent Record of Failure
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1374)
Based on strong evidence from Labor Department studies, Congress should move to eliminate this wasteful and unproductive program.
February 12, 2007
Changing Crime Rates: Ineffective Law Enforcement Grants and the Prison Buildup
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1355)
Recent reports of elevated crime rates have led commentators and public officials to speculate about what factors are to blame. Social scientists need time to collect and adequately analyze the recent crime data to develop explanations for the rise. Social critics, however, are not right to claim that the Bush Administration’s reduction of subsidies to local law enforcement for their routine responsibilities, through such programs as the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), is to blame. A better explanation is that the U.S. may not be relying heavily enough on criminal penalties, especially incarceration, to discourage criminal activity.
2006 Research
November 22, 2006
State and Local Law Enforcement's Key Role in Better, Faster, Cheaper Border Security
By James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Executive Memorandum #1015)
Federal support for border security policing should be viewed as a short-term bridging program to secure the border now, not as a pork-barrel program allocated through earmarks. To fund these efforts, Congress and the Administration should plan to allocate about $400 million per year over three years out of the projected spending on homeland security grants.
September 06, 2006
Better, Faster, and Cheaper Border Security
By James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., Brian W. Walsh, David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Laura P. Keith, and David D. Gentilli
(Backgrounder #1967)
U.S. border security strategy should employ a mix of resources in addition to Border Patrol agents, including state and local authorities, the National Guard, and private contractors. The DHS should heed the lessons learned from other large-scale contracting activities and should view border security as encompassing not only land borders, but air and sea borders as well.
July 17, 2006
Building a Better Border: What the Experts Say
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1952)
The literature on increased border enforcement's effect on illegal immigration indicates that it appears to slow the flow of illegal immigrants leaving the United States. Providing sanctions for illegally crossing the border and giving the Border Patrol a clear and consistent mission may be more important to securing the border than dramatically expanding the number of agents on the border.
May 26, 2006
Impact Evaluation of COPS Grants in Large Cities
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Center for Data Analysis Report #06-03)
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorized the creation of an intergovernmental grant program within the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the hiring and redeployment of 100,000 additional community policing officers on America's streets. The program that administers the grants is the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
April 18, 2006
School Choice and Supplemental Services: Administration Slow to Hold School Districts Accountable Under NCLB
By David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #1041)
The Alliance for School Choice and Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education recently filed complaints against the school districts of Los Angeles and Compton, California, for not complying with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB).
2005 Research
November 04, 2005
Should Federal Labor Policy Be Any Different After the 2005 Hurricane Season?
By Tim Kane, Ph.D., and David Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1893)
Congress should fashion a labor policy in response to the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes that uses market incentives rather than direct federal action. It should begin by securing stable homes for evacuees in real communities. The existing Unemployment Insurance system is working well to cushion job losses, but the Davis–Bacon reversal is a setback for labor market freedom.
March 21, 2005
North American Transnational Youth Gangs: Breaking the Chain of Violence
By Stephen Johnson and David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1834)
Policymakers can help to stabilize gang neighborhoods through migration reforms, by denying time and space to delinquent activities, and by increasing coordination between law enforcement agencies. The United States should promote the rule of law and free-market reforms in Mexico and Central America to boost employment while fostering cooperative security links to track gang member migration.
March 21, 2005
Executive Summary: North American Transnational Youth Gangs: Breaking the Chain of Violence
By Stephen Johnson and David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #1834)
Policymakers can help to stabilize gang neighborhoods through migration reforms, by denying time and space to delinquent activities, and by increasing coordination between law enforcement agencies. The United States should promote the rule of law and free-market reforms in Mexico and Central America to boost employment while fostering cooperative security links to track gang member migration.
2004 Research
July 06, 2004
In the Dark on Job Training: Federal Job-Training Programs Have a Record of Failure
By David Muhlhausen, Ph.D., and Paul Kersey
(Backgrounder #1774)
The history of federally funded job-training programs strongly suggests that reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) will not substantially raise participants' incomes. There is little reason to believe that the WIA has been more effective than other government-run training programs.
February 18, 2004
The Determinants of Sentencing in Pennsylvania: Do the Characteristics of Judges Really Matter?
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Center for Data Analysis Report #04-02)
How does adding more minority and women judges affect the administration of justice? Using a Tobit regression model and controlling for such factors as the sentence recommended by the Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines showed that black judges handed down longer incarceration sentences than white judges and that, although white judges did not tend to sentence black offenders any more severely than they did white offenders, black judges did tend to sentence black offenders to longer prison terms than white judges gave to white offenders.
2003 Research
December 09, 2003
When it comes to COPS, USA Today Got it Wrong
By David B. Muhlhausen
(WebMemo #381)
Right from the first sentence, a recent USA TODAY article defending the federal government's Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program contained some misleading information and some that was downright incorrect.
December 09, 2003
Congress is Set to Overspend Taxpayer Dollars on the Wasteful COPS Program
By David B. Muhlhausen
(WebMemo #382)
As a prominent example of government inefficiency, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Congress proposes to fund COPS at a level of 4.6 times over the Bush Administration's budget request. Instead, Congress should follow the President's recommendations regarding eliminating grants to pay for the salaries of state and local police officers and reducing overall funding for COPS because it is supported by an abundance of well-documented evidence.
July 16, 2003
GAO Critiques Research Touting COPS Program Effectiveness
By David B. Muhlhausen
(WebMemo #313)
A new General Accounting Office (GAO) study, reviewing an Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funded self-evaluation, casts doubt on claims on the effectiveness of COPS grants.
April 23, 2003
Why the Bush Administration Is Right on COPS
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Backgrounder #1647)
The Bush Administration's budget for fiscal year 2004 recommends major changes at the U.S. Department of Justice. Among the Administration's proposals are that hiring grants administered by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) be eliminated in FY 2004 and that overall funding for COPS be reduced to retarget funding for more urgent priorities.
February 19, 2003
Why the Bush Administration is Right
By David B. Muhlhausen
(WebMemo #211)
The Administration's budget recommendation to cut funding for this ineffective program is consistent with its goal of funding only those federal programs that pass the evaluation test recommended by President Bush.
2002 Research
October 01, 2002
Congress Spends Billions on Ineffective Job-Training Programs
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Backgrounder #1597)
Job Corps is anything but the "highly successful" program it is touted to be, and Congress should move to eliminate this wasteful and unproductive program.
October 01, 2002
bg1597es: Congress Spends Billions on Ineffective Job-Training Programs
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Executive Summary #1597)
bg1597es: Congress Spends Billions on Ineffective Job-Training Programs
August 12, 2002
How Congress Can Improve Its Financial Support for Law Enforcement
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Executive Memorandum #827)
Congress and the Administration should continually review law enforcement programs. They should redirect the funding of any program that has been unproductive--especially at a time when the budget is strained and the need for security heightened.
May 22, 2002
Will the Bush Administration Hold the Line on COPS?
By David B. Muhlhausen and Ralph Rector
(Backgrounder #1550)
Now that the budget debate has shifted to the appropriating committees of Congress, the President must hold the line on his goal of retargeting the funds of programs such as COPS whose effectiveness has not been proven or that have been demonstrably ineffective.
April 05, 2002
Research Challenges Claims of COPS Effectiveness
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Center for Data Analysis Report #02-02)
The COPS program, when tested by social science methods, was not shown to be an effective crime-fighting program; nor has it fulfilled its measurable goal of putting 100,000 additional officers on America's streets.
April 01, 2002
How Congress Can Fund Efficient Crime Programs and Still Fight Terrorism
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Executive Memorandum #808)
The best way to fund anti-terrorism programs is for Washington to shift dollars away from duplicative, unproven, or demonstrably ineffective programs.
March 21, 2002
Homeland Defense: Assessing the Needs of Local Law Enforcement
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Testimony #9999)
As a general policy, Congress should always end funding for unproductive programs and consolidate duplicative programs. When viewed from this policy standpoint, the Administration's position on COPS, LLEBG, and Byrne grants is sound.
March 07, 2002
Evaluation of Effectiveness within the Office of Justice Programs
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Testimony #9999)
Impact evaluations offer significant benefits for society because they measure how programs effect the social conditions they are designed to improve.
2001 Research
December 05, 2001
Making America's Streets Safer: The Future of the COPS Program
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Testimony #9999)
Based on the Heritage Foundation study of the COPS program and similar efforts, Senator Biden's bill to reauthorize the COPS program, S. 924, will do little to improve the program. There are no provisions in the bill to increase accountability and flexibility.
October 05, 2001
Where the Justice Department Can Find $2.6 Billion
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Backgrounder #1486)
After September 11, The United States cannot afford to waste valuable resources on misplaced priorities and ineffective programs. Common sense dictates that resources should be shifted away from the ineffective programs of the DOJ to programs that will better protect America's security.
June 14, 2001
More COPS Funding Will Not Mean More Cops and Less Crime
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Executive Memorandum #752)
Policymakers should promote effective policing activities, not merely increase funding for a program that has failed to achieve its goals.
May 25, 2001
Do COPS Grants Affect Violent Crime Rates?
By David B. Muhlhausen
(Center for Data Analysis Report #01-05)
For the past seven years, the most prominent federal crime-prevention initiative has been the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which gives grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to help them reduce crime by increasing community policing services.
2000 Research
September 25, 2000
The Facts about COPS
By Gareth Davis, David B. Muhlhausen, Dexter Ingram, and Ralph A. Rector, Ph.D.
(Center for Data Analysis Report #00-10)
The President's COPS program is expensive, but is it effective?
September 25, 2000
The Facts About COPS: A Performance Overview of the Community Oriented Policing Services Program
By Gareth Davis, David B. Muhlhausen, Dexter Ingram, and Ralph A. Rector, Ph.D.
(Executive Summary #00-10)
The Facts About COPS: A Performance Overview of the Community Oriented Policing Services Program
May 02, 2000
Continuing Victims of High Homicide Rates in Urban Communities
By Gareth G. Davis and David B. Muhlhausen
(Center for Data Analysis Report #00-05)
Despite a welcome decline in violent crime rates nationwide, African-American males are still dying from criminal homicides at an alarming rate.
2006 Commentary
September 26, 2006
Border Enforcement Is Not Enough
By David B. Muhlhausen
Despite vast differences, the House and Senate immigration reform bills share a common strategy on border security. Both would build fences (real and "virtual") and beef up border patrols to keep out migrants.
June 16, 2006
Rising crime
By David Muhlhausen
Last Monday, the FBI released its preliminary annual Uniform Crime Report for 2005. The numbers indicate crime may be on the rise. For example, the total number of murders in America increased by 4.8 percent. However, before the call goes out for the federal government to spend more on traditional state and local crime-fighting responsibilities, we need to put these numbers in perspective.
May 08, 2006
Thwarting Gangs
By David Muhlhausen
Youth gangs are not a new problem in America. They date to the end of the Revolutionary War, when groups of criminals appeared in New York and Philadelphia. But in recent years, some gangs have become truly national in their presence.
2005 Commentary
August 30, 2005
No silver bullet for youth gangs
By Stephen Johnson and David Muhlhausen
Today's youth gangs are an international problem. Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan should be congratulated for recognizing its complexity and traveling to El Salvador to exchange information with local officials.
August 24, 2005
Making Job Training Work is a Tough Job
By David Muhlhausen
Those who have followed the "progress" of federal job training programs will not be surprised to learn that, as Congress considers whether to re-authorize the Workforce Investment Act, debate is focusing on the administrative structure of WIA's various programs.
2004 Commentary
February 04, 2004
The Problem With Prisons
By David Muhlhausen
Signs can be found nationwide that what critics call America's "love affair" with incarcerating prisoners may be coming to an end.
2003 Commentary
August 05, 2003
Time to Retire COPS
By David Muhlhausen
President Bush has recommended that the Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS program, receive no more money for hiring grants.
January 21, 2003
Maryland Firing Blanks
By David Muhlhausen
Maryland Firing Blanks
2002 Commentary
October 03, 2002
"COPS" Makes for Crooked Cops
By David B. Muhlhausen
"COPS" Makes for Crooked Cops
2000 Commentary
May 03, 2000
America's Prisons are Full . . . of Criminals
By Robert E. Moffitt, Ph.D. and David B. Muhlhausen
America's Prisons are Full . . . of Criminals
1999 Commentary
December 09, 1999
ED120999: Crime in Two Counties
By Gareth Davis and David B. Muhlhausen
ED120999: Crime in Two Counties
October 9, 2008
