Noise at the street level: revealing unwanted variability in seismic safety

Street-level bureaucrats play a crucial role in translating policy statutes into services to citizens, but their discretion can have positive and negative impacts. This article examines noise–unwanted variability in decisions regarding identical cases. We conducted an experimental test with public officials managing seismic authorizations and analysed a database of all seismic audits performed between 2015 and 2020 in one Italian region (N = 17,463). The findings reveal substantial inconsistencies in seismic classification, the decision to grant building permits, administrative burdens, and the request for building changes. These findings have implications for the analysis of discretion, bias, and implementation. The conclusions explore strategies for reducing noise.