Police, Crime, and Economic Theory - An Assessment

Although several economic theories of crime postulate that crime rates and police strength are simultaneously determined, empirical research on the issue has produced highly divergent results. The need for strong assumptions about temporal patterning, which the theories do not supply, is probably responsible for these findings. We find no evidence for the systematic relationships envisioned in economic theory and attribute this to important organizational and political variables which are omitted from these theories. (Author abstract)