This paper examines the effects of COVID-19-induced lockdowns on recorded crime in England. The enforcement of lockdowns at both the national and local levels allows unveiling the impact on criminal activities by type of shutdown policy. Using official crime data across the universe of local authorities, we find that unlike local lockdowns national lockdowns significantly change the shape of recorded criminal activity, with the first nationally-imposed lockdown having the strongest impact. Findings also reveal that police operations play a prominent role in explaining changes in reported crimes. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that lockdowns reduced the economic costs of crime by £4.2 billion.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 时代的犯罪：来自英格兰的证据

本文探讨了 COVID-19 引发的封锁对英格兰犯罪记录的影响。在国家和地方层面实施封锁可以通过封锁政策的类型来揭示对犯罪活动的影响。使用各地当局的官方犯罪数据，我们发现，与地方封锁不同，国家封锁显着改变了记录的犯罪活动的形式，其中第一次全国实施的封锁影响最大。调查结果还显示，警察行动在解释所报告犯罪的变化方面发挥着重要作用。粗略计算表明，封锁使犯罪的经济成本减少了 42 亿英镑。