Can Neighborhood-Level Legal Aid Improve Police-Community Relations?

During the 1960s, the Johnson administration sought to address civil disorder and calm race riots as part of its War on Poverty. In pursuit of that goal, it established the Neighborhood Legal Services Program (NLSP), which funded local legal agencies through federal grants. By providing community-based legal aid in areas normally not served by existing law firms, policymakers believed that they could lift people out of poverty. They also believed that the program would reduce the propensity to violence. After all, some criminal activity was in response to perceived illegal police action or police brutality, and the NLSP offered alternative avenues to rioting for those seeking justice.

In a recent study, Jamein P. Cunningham and Rob Gillezeau found that funding for NLSPs indeed decreased the number and severity of riots. They further showed that funding for NLSPs also increased African-American wealth. Because wealth is commonly accumulated through property ownership, rioting severely decreased the property values of black-owned homes in riot areas. As a result, decreased rioting led to increased wealth.

Using data from the National Archives Community Action Program in 1964-1971, Cunningham and Gillezeau separated cities into a control group (those that did not receive NLSP grants) and a treatment group (those that did receive grants). First, the authors looked at the control group and compared rioting at the beginning of their timeline to that at the end. Then, by comparing that difference to the difference for the treatment group, they were able to estimate the impact of NLSP grants. They used the same process to measure effects on the property values of black-owned homes.

The authors recognized that because the NLSP was established as an anti-rioting program, more funding may have been directed toward cities with higher propensities for riot outbreaks. This would confound any causal interpretation of the results because it would mean the treatment and control groups were not comparable. To address this issue, Cunningham and Gillezeau used an instrumental variable associated with changes in riot activity only through its association with NLSP funding: the age of the closest law school. NLSP firms were meant to be paired with nearby law schools, so there was a clear association between the instrumental and explanatory variables. Aside from the NLSP program, the age of a law school was unassociated with riot activity since urban outbreaks occurred well after the establishment of legal institutions across the U.S.

Cunningham and Gillezeau found that a $1 million increase in NLSP grants reduced the number of riots by 3 percent. The average NLSP grant was around $200,000, so the average treatment effect was a reduction in the number of riots by 0.6 percent. This is only a moderate impact, but it may be explained by the fact that NLSP attorneys sought to address the severity of riots and not necessarily the number of them.

Indeed, the treatment effect of NLSP grants on riot severity (measured in terms of number of arrests, arson, injuries and people killed due to rioting) was much more substantial. Cunningham and Gillezeau found that a $1 million increase in NLSP grants reduced riot severity by 48 percent. This decrease implies that an average NLSP grant of $200,000 reduced riot severity by around ten percent.

Additionally, Cunningham and Gillezeau used census data on property values to estimate that the presence of an NLSP firm increased the average property value of a black-owned home by $2,139 by 1980. Accounting for the average number of black-owned homes per city, Cunningham and Gillezeau found that the NLSP induced a $10.5 million increase in property values by 1980 in cities that hosted NLSP firms.

The NLSP allowed community members greater access to the justice system. Rather than turn to criminal or violent activity for retribution, they were able to redress grievances against perceived or actual illegal police action through legal means. By de-escalating conflict and subsequently increasing African-American wealth, the NLSP helped smooth community relations. The national conversation over how to improve police-community relations continues. As we explore ways to ease racial tensions and reduce violence, the NLSP serves as evidence of just how effective community-focused programs can be.

Article source: Cunningham, Jamein P., and Rob Gillezeau. “The Effects of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program on Riots and the Wealth of African Americans.” The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 4, No. 6 (2018): 144-57.

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