Crime

Conventional wisdom has long held that people who live in violent neighborhoods suffer consequences whether they’re direct victims of crime or not. A new study from Assistant Professor Panka Bencsik has begun to scientifically test that hypothesis—which is an important part of quantifying violent crime’s overall costs and negative impacts. “This paper shows how [people] still suffer from crimes occurring close to home,” Bencsik said, information that could be useful to policymakers who want to promote mental health. Read More

Aid programs sponsored by the United States are effective in lowering crime in Central America, according to a Vanderbilt study. Read More

Neuroscientists from Vanderbilt and Harvard have proposed the first neurobiological model for third-party punishment, outlining potential cognitive and brain processes that evolutionary pressures could have re-purposed to make this behavior possible. Read More