The downtown area of the city of Stannicton is bustling during the

Question

The downtown area of the city of Stannicton is bustling during the work day, but when all the downtown workers (many of whom live in outlying suburbs) go home, the downtown area, now relatively empty, becomes a haven for crime. Many citizens have reported being attacked in the downtown area in the evening; typically, the assailants do not live downtown but rather come from other neighborhoods. The mayor of Stannicton has charged the city police to reduce the evening downtown crime rate. Police cars patrol the downtown area in the evenings, and the police can monitor any suspicious individual they see, but they can't possibly be on every block at once. In order to extend their "range", the police have established a crime-watch phone number so that downtown residents can report to the police any suspicious looking individual not from the downtown neighborhood, allowing the police to monitor this individual. The police chief feels the establishment of the crime-watch number will play an important part in reducing the evening downtown crime rate.

Which of the following, if true, would provide most support for the prediction that the establishment of the crime-watch number will have its intended effect?

(A) Most of the would-be assailants themselves have mobile phones, and are able to make calls as they move around the downtown neighborhood.

(B) The economic cost of car thefts throughout the city, day and night, is considerably greater than the costs associated with street crimes downtown in the evening.

(C) During the day time, police patrols seldom go downtown, which is bustling with traffic, and instead cruise the other neighborhoods of Stannicton.

(D) Many of the citizens of downtown work during the day and must shop and do laundry at night, so they have a vested interest in seeing the crime rate drop.

(E) While almost all would-be assailants look suspicious and are not from the downtown neighborhood, not everyone who fits that description on the downtown streets in the evening is a would-be assailant.

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cdrectenwald · Answer

The crucial question is whether the new “watch number” will actually lead to more timely and effective police monitoring of would‐be assailants. Choice (D) best supports that outcome. Because downtown residents are themselves out and about in the evenings (running errands, doing laundry, etc.) and have “a vested interest” in cutting crime, they are both motivated and in a position to make calls reporting suspicious individuals. That makes it more likely the watch number will succeed in reducing evening crime.

By contrast:

(A) only notes that would‐be assailants themselves have mobile phones, which does not help the residents report them.
(B) cites costs associated with thefts citywide, which does not address whether the watch number helps in the downtown evenings.
(C) focuses on patrols during the daytime, whereas the watch number is intended to help in the evening.
(E) points out that not everyone “looking suspicious” is necessarily a criminal, which could just as well lead to false alarms, so it does not strengthen the effectiveness of the watch number.

Whoisdmx15 · Answer

(A) Most of the would-be assailants themselves have mobile phones, and are able to make calls as they move around the downtown neighborhood. Eliminated This if anything slightly weakens the conclusion, as assailants may try and misguide the police personnel by themselves tipping them off in other direction. ( I have previously written about not spiraling into such thought wormholes, and again will advise not to do so

) (B) The economic cost of car thefts throughout the city, day and night, is considerably greater than the costs associated with street crimes downtown in the evening. Eliminated This has no bearing on the conclusion, wherein if crime rates will drop. (C) During the day time, police patrols seldom go downtown, which is bustling with traffic, and instead cruise the other neighborhoods of Stannicton. Eliminated This has no bearing on the conclusion, wherein if crime rates will drop during evenings or nights as it only gives us information about the day. (D) Many of the citizens of downtown work during the day and must shop and do laundry at night, so they have a vested interest in seeing the crime rate drop. Suitable This is the only fact, which if true, will incentivize the citizen to report suspect individuals. ( Checking for negation )If there were no incentive, they would not have called even after knowing about the existence of such number. (E) While almost all would-be assailants look suspicious and are not from the downtown neighborhood, not everyone who fits that description on the downtown streets in the evening is a would-be assailant. Eliminated This has no bearing on the conclusion. This if anything slightly weakens the conclusion.

bhargavhhhhhhhh · Answer

Question Breakdown:
- The mayor aims to reduce evening crime in downtown Stannicton.
- Police patrols cannot cover every block; a crime-watch phone number is introduced for residents to report suspicious individuals.
- The police chief predicts this will reduce crime.

What is asked: 
Find the statement that best supports the prediction that the crime-watch number will help reduce evening downtown crime.

Answer Choices Analysis:

(A) Would-be assailants have mobile phones and can make calls as they move around downtown. 
This is irrelevant because it doesn’t connect to how the crime-watch number will reduce crime.

(B) The economic cost of car thefts citywide is greater than the costs of evening street crimes downtown. 
This compares crime types but does not relate to the effectiveness of the crime-watch number in reducing evening crime.

(C) Police patrol other neighborhoods during the day while downtown is bustling. 
Daytime police activity is unrelated to the effectiveness of the crime-watch number in the evening.

(D) Downtown residents have a vested interest in reducing evening crime because they work during the day and need to shop and do laundry at night. 
This directly supports the effectiveness of the crime-watch number. If downtown residents care about reducing crime, they are more likely to use the number to report suspicious activity, enabling the police to respond and reduce crime.

(E) Not everyone who looks suspicious downtown is a would-be assailant. 
This weakens the crime-watch number's effectiveness by suggesting it might lead to false reports rather than genuine crime prevention.

Correct Answer: D 
Residents’ vested interest increases the likelihood of active participation in the crime-watch program, making it more effective at reducing crime.

Gmat750aspirant · Answer

D) Many of the citizens of downtown work during the day and must shop and do laundry at night, so they have a vested interest in seeing the crime rate drop. Suitable

NextstopISB · Answer

(D) Many of the citizens of downtown work during the day and must shop and do laundry at night, so they have a vested interest in seeing the crime rate drop. Suitable This is the only fact, which if true, will incentivize the citizen to report suspect individuals. (Checking for negation)If there were no incentive, they would not have called even after knowing about the existence of such number.

Bunuel · Answer

Official Explanation

Lots of crime in downtown Stannictown at night. More police are patrolling, but they can't be everywhere at one. To solve this problem, police establish a crime-watch phone number, and believe this will genuine help. We are asked: which most convinces us that the crime-watch phone number will help in fighting crime in this situation?

(D) is the credited answer. If the citizens of downtown have a vested interest in the success of the plan, they will use the crime-watch line. Moreover, these citizen are most likely to notice someone who is an outsider, which makes it even more likely that the folks they report are potential criminals.

(A) is irrelevant. Yes, the criminals have cell-phones, but obviously, they will not call the crime-watch number, so whatever calls they do make are irrelevant to the success of this program.

(B) is also irrelevant. Car theft may be a greater concern in the big picture, but this plan is specifically about fighting street-crime downtown at night. We have no idea what other steps the police many be taking to combat auto theft, but clearly it would be something very different that wouldn't have a direct effect on the success of this program.

(C) is also irrelevant. The problem we are addressing is about street crime at night. The prompt already suggests that the problem does not exist in the daytime, so what the police do in the day time is not directly relevant to solving this problem.

(E) is incorrect because it does not provide support for the police chief's plan. In fact, it describes something that may in fact weaken the plan, since the police could overly focus on potential assailants that look suspicious, and not ones that do not look suspicious, but commit assaults.

The downtown area of the city of Stannicton is bustling during the

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