Are cops cost-effective?
I was shocked to discover several fallacies regarding North American law enforcement in reports, studies and court cases. One of the more notable ones is the general belief that a police department is thought to be a good investment.
A well foot-noted document by Roger Roots studied the constitutionality of cops generally, and along the way made some significant discoveries about costs, titling the section, "COPS NOT COST-EFFECTIVE DETERRENT".
Now that's a pretty blatant statement and one I'm sure most citizens would take issue with. So rather than simply trust the data at wholesale, I looked at Des Moines' police department budget for 2009 in search of some guidance on the issue.
The average cop's annual salary exceeds $100,000, not including side jobs where they act as security guards at convenience stores and bars.
What's an arrest worth?
I found, for instance, if you judge police effectiveness on arrests alone, they come at a cost of nearly $4,000 each. Pretty startling.
I found, for instance, if you judge police effectiveness on arrests alone, they come at a cost of nearly $4,000 each. Pretty startling.
Cost of protection
If you'd rather look at the economic impact of police on residents of our city, cops' fees in relationship to the average family of 5 are $1,400 per year.
If you'd rather look at the economic impact of police on residents of our city, cops' fees in relationship to the average family of 5 are $1,400 per year.
It's unnerving to realize that the police need more than $100 a month from every family. $150,000 per square mile every month? No wonder the government no longer wants citizens to police their own neighborhoods. And it makes me curious; can I look at alternative service providers? Will they guarantee that me and my stuff are safe? It's odd that we hold the cable company to higher standards than we do the police who have sworn to protect us.
Another well-promoted and self-perpetuated fallacy is that police work is extremely dangerous -- except that the numbers don't support the perception. A recent news story marking the 75th anniversary of the Iowa State Patrol had the number of killed state troopers since 1935 in the single digits. Construction is a far more dangerous job, but you never hear that on the evening news.
These things make you wonder how charities - that function solely for raising money for families of killed police officers -- manage to hoodwink their donors into coughing up cash.
