EFFECT OF POLICE EXPENDITURES ON CRIME RATES - SOME EVIDENCE (FROM RESOLVED - THAT US LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SHOULD BE GIVEN SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER FREEDOM IN THE INVESTIGATION AND/OR..., 1977 - SEE NCJ-49061)

• NCJ Number: 49063
• Author(s): T F POGUE
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 17 pages
• Corporate Author: Library of Congress
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: REPRINTED FROM PUBLIC FINANCE QUARTERLY, V 3, N 1 (JANUARY 1975), P 14-44

Annotation

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PUBLIC SECTOR USE OF RESOURCES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE RATE OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IS ASSESSED. THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON CRIME IS ALSO CONSIDERED.

Abstract

PREVIOUS STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIME AND RESOURCES DIRECTED AT CRIME PREVENTION ARE REVIEWED. THEN A MODEL OF CRIME GENERATION IS PRESENTED IN WHICH A COMMUNITY'S CRIME RATES AND POLICE ACTIVITIES ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY DETERMINED AS A RESULT OF EFFORTS TO MINIMIZE THE COMBINED COSTS OF CRIME AND POLICE PROTECTION. THE PARAMETERS OF THE MODEL ARE ESTIMATED AND THE RESULTS SHOW THAT POLICE SPENDING IS NOT A DOMINANT OR IMPORTANT DETERMINANT IN OBSERVED DIFFERENCES IN CRIME RATES. HOWEVER, AN EXAMINATION INDICATES THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE DETERMINANTS IN THE VARIATION OF CRIME RATES. THE RESULTS SUPPORT TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS THAT EXISTING INTERCITY DIFFERENCES IN CRIME RATES CANNOT BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE SUBSTANTIAL INTERCITY DIFFERENCES IN RESOURCES DEVOTED TO PUBLIC LAW ENFORCEMENT. NOR CAN THE MAJOR SHARE OF CRIME RATE VARIATION BE ATTRIBUTED TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT ARE WIDELY REGARDED AS DETERMINANTS OF INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS TO ENGAGE IN UNLAWFUL ACTIVITY. FACTORS SUCH AS INCOME, RACE, AGE, AND CITY SIZE DO APPEAR TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AND STABLE EFFECT ON CRIME RATES. TABLES DEPICT ESTIMATES OF RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CRIME RATES AND DIFFERENT VARIABLES, CRIME-RATE-CLEARANCE RATIOS, AND DEFINITIONS OF VARIABLES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED --DAG)