Furman Center Releases Study on Housing Vouchers and Neighborhood Crime

Nov. 2, 2011: New research released by the Furman Center finds no evidence that an increase of voucher holders in a community leads to increases in crime. The paper, American Murder Mystery Revisited: Do Housing Voucher Households Cause Crime, instead finds a different association: that voucher holders are more likely to move into areas when crime rates are already rising. More than two million renters now receive Housing Choice Vouchers which subsidize rent in private apartments. However, community opposition to vouchers can be fierce due to perceptions that voucher holders will both reduce property values and heighten crime. View Fact Sheet.