Crime Sharing: How the Sharing Economy may Impact Crime Victims

The sharing economy (e.g., Uber, Lyft, Airbnb) is growing rapidly. It is a disruptive innovation in how people cooperate and share services and products in many ways. One of the likely outcomes of this change is reducing crime and transitioning from publicly provided justice systems to prevention and alternative dispute resolution. These changes occur because the sharing economy alters the opportunity structure of committing a crime and enhances safety by increasing digital place managers, guardians, and handlers. Further, the sharing economy places victims back at the forefront of concern and often identifies alternative dispute resolution outside the criminal justice system. These changes are evident from a content examination of 40 popular sharing platform websites. Findings indicate that 78% have a rating system in place, 50% have a help section for problems between sharers, 80% provide access to contracts on their websites, and 63% specify arbitration if disputes cannot be settled. These findings indicate that the sharing economy and private regulation are impacting the structure of the justice system, enhancing safety, reducing the private ownership of products, empowering victims with knowledge of sharing partners, and providing access to private arbitration to solve disputes.