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"In a suburban community in the Southeast, neighborhood security guards have their residents’ permission to call local police if anyone is observed entering the home of a resident who is out of town. When residents leave town, they report their departure and return dates to the neighborhood security office. If guards observe someone entering the home of a resident who is out of town, they will immediately call the police. The residential burglary rate for that community has decreased since the implementation of this reporting procedure. Therefore, the new reporting procedure has been effective in reducing the burglary rate in the community. Which of the following would be most important to know to make sure the conclusion is valid?"

(a) Are residents who report their travel plans to the security office also taking other precautions to protect their homes while they are away?
(b) How many other communities utilize this reporting procedure with their neighborhood security offices?
(c) Will residents be harassed by security guards or the police if they return home early from their travels?
(d) Is this community similar to other guarded suburban communities in the Southeast?
(e) Are homes in this community sometimes burglarized even when residents are in town?



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(E) Since this is also the condition which contributes in overall decrease of rate of burglary in the area...

My answer is A

If people who travel take additional precautions than that may be one of the reason responsible for lowering the burglary rate rather than the new travel reporting procedure.

ma ans is D

The correct answer is "A"


"This passage is an example of an argument that generalizes from the purported success the reporting program has had in reducing burglary rates. In order for the conclusion to be valid, it must be _base_d upon all other things being the same. If some other factor is instrumental in
reducing the burglary rate, then concluding that the reporting program is responsible for the reduced crime rate would be weakened.Choice (A) considers additional precautions taken by people who travel, for instance, if the people installed motion detector lights on the outside of their homes, then perhaps increased lighting is responsible for lowering the burglary rate rather than the new travel reporting procedure. Thus A is the best answer. The other selections are irrelevant to determining what caused the lower burglary rate in the community under study. What happens in other communities doesn’t impact results in the subject community. Selection (C) is a tempting choice because the answer might suggest that the security guards and police are observant and taking action as a result of the reporting procedure. But (C) does not suggest a reason that might weaken the validity of the conclusion."

the answer is E as the passage has evidence of community members out of town but no eidence of community members in the town