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Police Force Size and Civilian Race

Author

Listed:
  • Aaron Chalfin
  • Benjamin Hansen
  • Emily K. Weisburst
  • Morgan C. Williams Jr.

Abstract

We report novel empirical estimates of the race-specific effects of larger police forces in the United States. Each additional police officer abates approximately 0.1 homicides. In per capita terms, effects are twice as large for Black versus White victims. Larger police forces also make fewer arrests for serious crimes, with larger reductions for crimes with Black suspects, implying that police force growth does not increase racial disparities among the most serious charges. At the same time, larger police forces make more arrests for low-level "quality-of-life" offenses, with effects that imply a disproportionate impact for Black Americans.

Suggested Citation

  • Aaron Chalfin & Benjamin Hansen & Emily K. Weisburst & Morgan C. Williams Jr., 2022. "Police Force Size and Civilian Race," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 4(2), pages 139-158, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aerins:v:4:y:2022:i:2:p:139-58
    DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20200792
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bhatt, Monica & Heller, Sara & Kapustin, Max & Bertrand, Marianne & Blattman, Christopher, 2023. "Predicting and Preventing Gun Violence: An Experimental Evaluation of READI Chicago," SocArXiv dks29, Center for Open Science.
    2. David Bjerk, 2022. "Does greater police funding help catch more murderers?," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 528-559, September.
    3. Adams, Ian T. & Mourtgos, Scott M. & Nix, Justin, 2023. "Turnover in large US policing agencies following the George Floyd protests," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Brendan O'Flaherty & Rajiv Sethi & Morgan Williams, 2024. "The nature, detection, and avoidance of harmful discrimination in criminal justice," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(1), pages 289-320, January.
    5. Jha, Chandan Kumar & Joshi, Swarup, 2023. "Municipal bankruptcies and crime," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Cabrera, José María & Cid, Alejandro & Veneri, Federico, 2022. "Hot Spots, Patrolling Intensity, and Robberies: Lessons from a three-year program in Uruguay," MPRA Paper 113786, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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