Assignment task:
A mayor's top policy priority is to address the high rate of crime on the city's public transportation system. Analysis of arrests for a wide range of crimes has found that 95 percent of crimes on the public transportation system are committed by individuals who have mental health challenges and/or are homeless. To address the crime rate, the mayor's office has analyzed two policy alternatives.
Policy Alternative #1 is to hire 100 new police officers specifically to patrol the city's public transportation networks. The city consists of 25 neighborhoods and the crime rates are the highest in areas of high poverty, therefore the mayor plans to place the new officers at transportation stations in 10 of the city's least wealthy neighborhoods. The cost of this policy alternative would be $10,000,000 per year.
Policy Alternative #2 is to increase video surveillance by placing new cameras on all buses and train cars throughout the city, as well as at all bus depots and train stations. Signs would be placed on all public transportation vehicles, stations, and depots to notify commuters that they are under 24-hour surveillance. The cost of this program would be $5,000,000 the first year due to the costs of installation, and $2,000,000 each year to cover maintenance.
Causality Question: What is the root cause of the problem? Does the policy address the root cause of the problem? Explain.