During the 1990s, an average of 290 criminals were given the death sentence each year; in the first four years of the 2000s, that number had dropped to 174. See Adam Liptak, "Fewer Death Sentences Being Imposed in U.S.," New York Times, September 15, 2004.

126-27 Do Police Actually Lower Crime? See Steven D. Levitt, "Using Electoral Cycles in Police Hiring to Estimate the Effect of Police on Crime," American Economic Review 87, no. 3 (1997), pp. 270-90; Steven D. Levitt, "Why Do Increased Arrest Rates Appear to Reduce Crime: Deterrence, Incapacitation, or Measurement Error?" Economic Inquiry 36, no. 3 (1998), pp. 353-72; and Steven D. Levitt, "The Response of Crime Reporting Behavior to Changes in the Size of the Police Force: Implications for Studies of Police Ef- fectiveness Using Reported Crime Data," Journal of Quantitative Criminol- ogy 14 (February 1998), pp. 62-81. / 127 The 1960s as a great time to be a criminal: See Gary S. Becker and Guity Nashat Becker, The Economics of Life (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997), pp. 142-43.

127-30 New York Citys Crime "Miracle": The "Athenian period" quote came from an author interview with former police captain William J. Gorta, one of CompStats inventors. / 128 The broken window theory: See James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, "Broken Windows: The Police and Neigh- borhood Safety," Atlantic Monthly, March 1982. / 130 Bratton hiring more police in Los Angeles: See Terry McCarthy, "The Gang Buster," Time, Jan- uary 19, 2004.

130-34 Gun Laws: Concerning the fact that the United States has more guns than it has adults, see Philip Cook and Jens Ludwig, Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive Survey of Gun Ownership and Use (Washington: Police Foun- dation, 1996). / 131 The gun-crime link: See Mark Duggan, "More Guns, More Crime," Journal of Political Economy 109, no. 5 (2001), pp.

1086-1114. / 131 Guns in Switzerland: See Stephen P. Halbrook, "Armed to the Teeth, and Free," Wall Street Journal Europe, June 4, 1999. / 132 The impotent Brady Act: See Jens Ludwig and Philip Cook, "Homicide and Suicide Rates Associated with Implementation of the Brady Handgun Vio- lence Prevention Act," Journal of the American Medical Association 284, no. 5 (2000), pp.

585-91. / 132 Felons buying black-market guns: See James D. Wright and Peter H. Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms (Hawthorne, N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter, 1986). / 133 The gun-for-psychotherapy swap: See "Wise Climb-Down, Bad Veto," Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1994. / 133 Why gun buybacks dont work: See C. Callahan, F. Rivera, and T. Koepsell, "Money for Guns: Evalu-