St. Paul Pioneer Press

Dear Editor:

The Jan. 14 column by Ruben Rosario (“Link Between Casinos, Crime Deserves More Study”) fails to look beyond anecdotal information and popular myth while attempting to explore a causal relationship between crime and casino gaming. Mr. Rosario overlooked numerous studies - both privately and publicly funded - as well as testimony from law enforcement officers nationwide that refute those claims.

The congressionally mandated and taxpayer-funded National Gambling Impact Study Commission found in its research that “… the casino effect is not statistically significant for any of the …crime outcome measures. …” Furthermore, as part of the commission record, 24 sheriffs and chiefs of police signed a statement of findings reporting no connection between gaming and crime in their jurisdictions. In testimony before the commission, some law enforcement officials went even further, stating that since the inception of casino gaming in their communities, there has actually been a decrease in criminal activity.

Other studies have echoed these findings. Reports by the Public Sector Gaming Study Commission and the National Institute of Justice both found that casino gaming does not cause an increase in criminal activity. In addition, a 1997 study by a former director of the Illinois State Police found “there is little valid evidence to support the notion that the presence of casino gaming in a community has any meaningful impact on crime rates.”

While Mr. Rosario is certainly entitled to his personal beliefs about gambling, he would be advised to do more research before making accusations about the impact of gaming on community crime rates and presenting myths and stereotypes as fact.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
President and CEO