IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juecon/v130y2022ics0094119022000377.html

Should cities disband their police departments?

Author

Listed:
  • Boylan, Richard T.

Abstract

This paper finds that disbanding police departments leads to fewer police-related deaths, fewer reported crimes, and lower law enforcement expenditures. However, the number of crimes reported by the sheriff for the entire county increases by an amount commensurate to the decrease in the number of crimes reported by cities that disbanded their police department. Furthermore, disbanding police departments is associated with an increase in county sheriffs spending which offsets the city savings. Thus, disbanding police departments does not appear to impact overall crime, shifts responsibility for law enforcement onto other governments, and reduces the available information about cities’ crimes.

Suggested Citation

  • Boylan, Richard T., 2022. "Should cities disband their police departments?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:130:y:2022:i:c:s0094119022000377
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2022.103460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119022000377
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jue.2022.103460?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Masera, Federico, 2021. "Police safety, killings by the police, and the militarization of US law enforcement," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Frank Edwards & Hedwig Lee & Michael Esposito, 2019. "Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race–ethnicity, and sex," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(34), pages 16793-16798, August.
    3. AlÌcia Adserý, 2003. "Are You Being Served? Political Accountability and Quality of Government," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 445-490, October.
    4. Kyle Rozema & Max Schanzenbach, 2019. "Good Cop, Bad Cop: Using Civilian Allegations to Predict Police Misconduct," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 225-268, May.
    5. George Wood & Tom R. Tyler & Andrew V. Papachristos, 2020. "Procedural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(18), pages 9815-9821, May.
    6. repec:oup:qjecon:v:136:y:2021:i:1:p:115-168. is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Sarit Weisburd, 2021. "Police Presence, Rapid Response Rates, and Crime Prevention," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(2), pages 280-293, May.
    8. Corman, Hope & Mocan, Naci, 2005. "Carrots, Sticks, and Broken Windows," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(1), pages 235-266, April.
    9. David Weisburd & John E. Eck, 2004. "What Can Police Do to Reduce Crime, Disorder, and Fear?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 593(1), pages 42-65, May.
    10. Gyimah-Brempong, Kwabena, 1987. "Economies of Scale in Municipal Police Departments: The Case of Florida," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(2), pages 352-356, May.
    11. Jonathan Levin & Steven Tadelis, 2010. "Contracting For Government Services: Theory And Evidence From U.S. Cities," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 507-541, September.
    12. Bev Dahlby, 1996. "Fiscal externalities and the design of intergovernmental grants," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 3(3), pages 397-412, July.
    13. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    14. Leah Boustan & Fernando Ferreira & Hernan Winkler & Eric M. Zolt, 2013. "The Effect of Rising Income Inequality on Taxation and Public Expenditures: Evidence from U.S. Municipalities and School Districts, 1970–2000," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1291-1302, October.
    15. Trevor L. Brown & Matthew Potoski, 2003. "Managing contract performance: A transaction costs approach," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 275-297.
    16. Michael D. Makowsky & Thomas Stratmann, 2011. "More Tickets, Fewer Accidents: How Cash-Strapped Towns Make for Safer Roads," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(4), pages 863-888.
    17. Cutler, David M. & Elmendorf, Douglas W. & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1999. "Restraining the Leviathan: property tax limitation in Massachusetts," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 313-334, March.
    18. Koslicki, Wendy M. & Willits, Dale W. & Brooks, Rachael, 2021. "Fatal outcomes of militarization: Re-examining the relationship between the 1033 Program and police deadly force," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Wheaton, William C., 2006. "Metropolitan fragmentation, law enforcement effort and urban crime," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 1-14, July.
    20. Cheng, Cheng & Long, Wei, 2018. "Improving police services: Evidence from the French Quarter Task Force," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-18.
    21. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    22. Edward L. Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote, 1999. "Why Is There More Crime in Cities?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 225-258, December.
    23. MacDonald, J.M. & Kaminski, R.J. & Smith, M.R., 2009. "The effect of less-lethal weapons on injuries in police use-of-force events," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(12), pages 2268-2274.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Federico Masera, 2022. "The economics of policing and crimeThe economics of policing and crime," Chapters, in: Paolo Buonanno & Paolo Vanin & Juan Vargas (ed.), A Modern Guide to the Economics of Crime, chapter 2, pages 12-29, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Mikdash, Maya & Zaiour, Reem, 2024. "The impact of police shootings on gun violence and civilian cooperation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    3. Yusun Kim & Yilin Hou, 2025. "Property Valuation – Cycle Length and Assessment Outcome," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 71(4), pages 545-586, November.
    4. Kang, Songman & Kim, Duol, 2022. "Focus vs. spread: Police box consolidation and its impact on crime in Korea," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Elisa Facchetti, 2025. "Police infrastructure, police performance, and crime: evidence from austerity cuts," IFS Working Papers W24/16, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    6. Andrés Barrios Fernández & Jorge Garcia-Hombrados & Daniel Perez-Parra, 2025. "Police effectiveness, geographic specialization, police organization," CEP Discussion Papers dp2122, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Fone, Zachary S. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2023. "The unintended effects of minimum wage increases on crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    8. Cunningham, Jamein & Feir, Donn. L. & Gillezeau, Rob, 2021. "Collective Bargaining Rights, Policing, and Civilian Deaths," IZA Discussion Papers 14208, IZA Network @ LISER.
    9. Donohue, John J. & Cai, Samuel V. & Bondy, Matthew V. & Cook, Philip J., 2025. "Why do right to carry laws increase violence? Effects on gun theft and clearance rates," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    10. Bas Scheer & Wiljan van den Berge & Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2022. "Alternative Work Arrangements and Worker Outcomes: Evidence from Payrolling," CPB Discussion Paper 435, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    11. Ichev, Riste & Valentinčič, Aljoša, 2025. "The effect of impact investing on performance of private firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    12. Mac Clay, Pablo & Börner, Jan & Sellare, Jorge, 2023. "Institutional and macroeconomic stability mediate the effect of auctions on renewable energy capacity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    13. Wei, Qingfang & Liu, Yuan & Cai, Weixing & Wan, Jiangtao, 2025. "Open government data and personal default: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Catalina Amuedo‐Dorantes & Francisca M. Antman, 2022. "De facto immigration enforcement, ICE raid awareness, and worker engagement," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 373-391, January.
    15. D. Mark Anderson & Yang Liang & Joseph J. Sabia, 2024. "Mandatory seatbelt laws and traffic fatalities: A reassessment," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 513-521, April.
    16. Nadja van 't Hoff & Giovanni Mellace & Seetha Menon, 2025. "Gender Differences in Healthcare Utilisation -- Evidence from Unexpected Adverse Health Shocks," Papers 2509.01310, arXiv.org.
    17. Shirin, Farzana, 2023. "Does Teacher Salary Support Improve Student Learning Outcomes," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335793, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Arne Henningsen & Guy Low & David Wuepper & Tobias Dalhaus & Hugo Storm & Dagim Belay & Stefan Hirsch, 2024. "Estimating Causal Effects with Observational Data: Guidelines for Agricultural and Applied Economists," IFRO Working Paper 2024/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    19. Stefan Bauernschuster & Michael Grimm & Cathy M. Hajo, 2023. "The Impact of Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control Clinics on Early 20th Century U.S. Fertility and Mortality," CESifo Working Paper Series 10421, CESifo.
    20. Fabio Bothner & Annette Elisabeth Töller & Paul Philipp Schnase, 2022. "Do Lawsuits by ENGOs Improve Environmental Quality? Results from the Field of Air Pollution Policy in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:130:y:2022:i:c:s0094119022000377. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622905 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.