This model depicts the complex relationships between crime, number of police, investment in community development programs and the youth population of the small country town, Bourke. 

In this system dynamics model, the user can observe how modifying the spending on community development programs and changing the number of police in the town affects the crime rate and the engagement of youth. 

These variables can be altered using the sliders which are provided underneath the notes. The model runs for a period of 5 years. This was deemed the optimal time during which any generational changes could be observed.

The model is explained with more detail below, along with any assumptions and their appropriate reasoning.

Variables

Investment in Community Development Programs

It is assumed that the minimum that can be invested is $1000 and the maximum is $100 000.

Number of Police

It is assumed that the minimum number of police officers that can be present in Bourke is 10 and the maximum is 100.

Stocks and Flows

Bourke Population

The population of Bourke is set as 3000 as stated in the Justice Reinvestment document.

Boredom and lack of opportunity leads to

This flow is given the equation: (50000/[Investment in Community Development Programs])* 2. The greater the investment in community development programs, the lesser the number of youths who are bored.

Disengaged and Alienated Youth

Since there are not many activities for young adults (as stated in the Justice Reinvestment document), it is assumed that they are all currently disengaged and alienated. The disengaged and alienated youth population of Bourke is thus set as 1000 before the model is run.

Petty Crime

Since the youth crime rate for Bourke is quite high, it was assumed that 800 out of the 1000 youth would engage in petty crime. This is before any additions to the police force or increase in community development programs investment.

Commit

This flow is dependent on both the number of disengaged youth and the number of police. The more police that are present in Bourke, the more disengaged the youth become. This ensures that the level of petty crime committed is directly related to the number of police officers.

Convicted

This flow is given a constant rate of 7*[Number of Police] + (0.1*[Petty Crime]). This means that the greater the number of police officers present, the greater the number of convictions. It also means that at the highest number of police officers available (100), the highest the number of convictions is 700 + 10% of youths who commit a crime. Since the model assumes that there are 800 youths committing crime at the beginning of the models’ commencement, it realistically represents the police’s inability to catch ALL criminals.

Not Convicted

This flow has the equation ([Petty Crime]/[Number of Police])*2. Since the number of police is in the denominator, the lower the number, the higher the number of delinquents who are not convicted. This attempts to keep the model realistic. At the maximum level of 100 police officers, there will still remain some delinquents who escape conviction and this remains true to life.

Lesson Learnt

Since youth crime is so rife in Bourke, it is assumed that only 20% of offenders in the juvenile detention centre learn their lesson and never commit crime again. This was done to simplify the modelling.

Still Disenchanted

It is assumed that 80% of offenders do not learn their lesson after their time in the juvenile detention centre.

Feel Estranged

This flow is given the equation: [Number of Police]*5 + 50/([Investment in Community Development Programs]/1000).

Thus, the higher the number of police, the greater the number of youths who feel estranged. The greater the investment in community development programs, the lesser the number of youths who feel estranged.

Participate and engage in

This flow is dependent on the level of investment in community development programs. The greater the investment, the greater the participation. This is realistic as the more money is spent on such programs, the more interested that youths will be in participating.

Develop Inter-community relationships

It is estimated that the majority of youths who participate in community development programs will develop inter-community relationships. This model assumes that such programs will be largely successful in encouraging social harmony amongst the youths.

Relapse

However, youths participating in the community development programs may relapse and head back into the path of crime. However, this is assumed to only be a small minority (1/8 of those who participate).

Interesting Observations

1) Number of Police: 10 (minimum)

Investment in Community Development Programs: $1000 (minimum)

It is important to note that even the minimal amount of investment in community development programs is enough to cause the crime rate to decrease, to the point where, after 3 years,  there are more youths who are Reformed and Engaged than those involved in Petty Crime. However, the number of youths who are Reformed decreases after some time, indicating greater investment is needed. Somewhat surprisingly, the number of youths who are involved in the community development programs is at its highest, further suggesting the need for increased investment.

2) Number of Police: 100 (maximum)

Investment in Community Development Programs: $1000 (minimum)

Predictably, Petty Crime has drastically decreased, and in a much shorter time than when there were only 10 police officers. The number of youths who are Reformed and Engaged and those who are involved in the Community Development Programs has also increased, but they are not as high as in the previous observation, most likely due to increased alienation caused by the high police presence.

3) Number of Police: 10 (minimum)

Investment in Community Development Programs: $100 000(maximum)

Quite surprisingly, Petty Crime has decreased drastically, despite the low number of police officers present in Bourke. This shows that the large sums of money being invested in the Community Development Programs has created a social change within the town’s youth population with high numbers of youths participating in these programs and thus becoming Reformed and Engaged. Another interesting aspect is that while the number of youths participating in the programs reduces to zero at the end of the fifth year, the number of youths who are Reformed and Engaged is at an all time high.

4) Number of Police: 100 (maximum)

Investment in Community Development Programs: $100 000 (maximum)

While Petty Crime has decreased significantly, the number of youths who are Reformed and Engaged and those who participate in Community Development Programs is not as high as Scenario 3. Extremely large numbers of youths are also spending time in the Juvenile Detention Centre during the first 2 years of the 5-year model. While repeat offences are low, this may be more due to fear of police brutality and the prospects of harsher sentences than any conscious effort on the youth population’s part to be more harmonious members of society.