The effect of media exposure of suspects on solving crime

Abstract

In this study we investigate the effect of showing suspects of crime in a TV programme on the probability of apprehension. We exploit exogenous variation in the number of viewers of the crime programme induced by Champions League games broadcast on competing channels. The estimates show that an increase in the number of viewers of the TV programme increases the probability of solving crime, especially for criminal cases with many potential observers or cases for which it is easier to recognise suspects due to the quality of the images. The implication of our findings is that media can be effectively used for detection of crime suspects.