No crime increase seen in first months of Plainridge casino

The analysis, presented to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday, examined crimes committed in the first six full months of the casino’s operation, from July to December, compared with crimes for the same six-month period in the years 2010 through 2014.

“On the whole, I am not seeing an impact on crime from Plainridge,” Plainville Police Chief James Alfred said. “What I would say at this point is: So far, so good.”

The report is the first in an ongoing comprehensive research program aimed at determining what effect, if any, casinos have on crime, problem gambling, and other social ills in surrounding communities and statewide.

The gambling commission hired Christopher W. Bruce, a crime analyst and former local police officer, to conduct the crime portion of the research.

The research, considered the most ambitious ever undertaken by a state, is mandated in the 2011 Massachusetts casino law. It will encompass all of the state’s casinos, once they are built.

Bruce cautioned that the six-month study period is too short to draw major or final conclusions, saying, at this point, he’s in agreement with previous research that has found “crime does not inevitably increase with the introduction of casinos” and that the effects of casinos on crime “are only poorly understood.”

Bruce found no significant increase in robbery, burglary, or thefts. He did note a significant increase in credit card fraud but said, based on his examination of police reports, that he could not tie it to the casino.

“Overall, there’s been no appreciable crime increase that I would attribute to Plainridge,” he said. “But we have to look much more closely and over longer periods of time.”

Bruce found it likely that Plainridge’s opening spurred more traffic-related calls for service, including disabled vehicles, reports of erratic driving, and reports of suspicious activities. Traffic collisions have also increased, he said.

“It makes perfect sense to have an increase in traffic-related calls when there’s been an increase in traffic” because of the casino’s opening, he said.

Bruce said he could make no finding on drunken driving, in part because arrests are so closely related to the level of enforcement efforts, not necessarily to the frequency of drunken driving.

“We are going to have a lot of these reports, which will allow us to truly understand, for good or ill, the effects of casinos on communities,” said commission chairman Stephen P. Crosby after Bruce’s presentation.

“The study can serve as an early warning system if problems are detected, and then allow us to take steps to protect public safety.”

Eric Schippers, senior vice president of Penn National, which owns Plainridge Park Casino, said public safety will remain a priority.

“We will continue to take our responsibilities to run a first-class, safe, entertainment facility very seriously and thank everyone in the public safety community for their excellent work,” Schippers said.

The study examined data from Plainville, Attleboro, Mansfield, North Attleborough, and Wrentham.

The Foxborough police declined to participate out of concerns for security and privacy, Bruce said.