Police Force Size and Civilian Race
We report the first empirical estimate 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. At the same time, larger police forces make more arrests for low-level “quality-of-life” offenses, with effects that imply a disproportionate burden for Black Americans. Notably, cities with large Black populations do not share equally in the benefits of investments in police manpower. Our results provide novel empirical support for the popular narrative that Black communities are simultaneously over and under-policed.
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Copy CitationAaron Chalfin, Benjamin Hansen, Emily K. Weisburst, and Morgan C. Williams, Jr., "Police Force Size and Civilian Race," NBER Working Paper 28202 (2020), https://doi.org/10.3386/w28202.
Published Versions
Aaron Chalfin & Benjamin Hansen & Emily K. Weisburst & Morgan C. Williams, 2022. "Police Force Size and Civilian Race," American Economic Review: Insights, vol 4(2), pages 139-158.