Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

New Study: Cops Prevent Crime

Friday, April 5, 2019

New Study: Cops Prevent Crime

Readers may have noticed that we review “gun policy” studies regularly. Those clamoring for federal funding for gun policy research should set themselves up a Google Scholar alert, but not everything we want to highlight is directly related to gun policy. Crime is a complex issue and criminals are – shockingly – at the root of “gun crime”.

Studies and position papers published by doctors or medical professionals call for a public health approach to reducing “gun violence” but their policy suggestions are always focused on law-abiding gun owners – and their recommendations omit any sort of law enforcement component when they write about having a conversation to determine the path forward.

More COPS, less crime” is a new study published in The Journal of Public Economics that looks explicitly at the effect of law enforcement on crime. Steven Mello, a PhD candidate in Economics at Princeton University, used the resurgence in funding for the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) hiring program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of police on crime. He found that each additional police officer hired prevented four violent crimes and 15 property crimes. Mello attributes the decrease in crime to a deterrence effect additional law enforcement officers have rather than an increase in arrest rate. 

What makes Mello’s paper so interesting is the built-in experiment. Less than $20 million was appropriated for the COPS program each year between 2005-2008. As the recession set in, the program was revitalized with a billion-dollar earmark to prevent an increase in crime as economic conditions worsened (and to preserve law enforcement jobs). Grants were awarded based on fiscal need and crime scores determined by the COPS office with requirements to ensure every state received funding and to prioritize large jurisdictions. As Mello notes, “Unsurprisingly, higher-scoring cities are larger, poorer, and have significantly higher crime rates.” The grants covered 100% of entry-level salary and benefits for new or rehired officers for three years.

The key finding is that “Among violent crimes, the results are negative and statistically significant for murder, rape, and robbery, while the estimate is not significant for assault.” Mello’s findings for murder are limited by the variability in the murder rate, his findings imply that “one life can be saved by hiring about 9.5 new police officers.” Mello goes on to discuss his findings in terms of cost-benefit, finding that each officer contributes $352,000 in social benefit (based on crime reduction) – well above the point at which the additional officer would be considered cost-effective.

Mello’s findings offer a quantitative contribution to the common-sense conviction that police officers reduce crime – and not just by locking everyone up. Mello may follow in the footsteps of John Donohue and other anti-gun researchers, but we have no qualms with his findings here.

Police fight crime, criminals break the law. Add more police and crime falls. It makes sense.  Just as it makes sense to focus “gun violence” solutions on criminals instead of law-abiding gun owners.

IN THIS ARTICLE
crime Law Enforcement
TRENDING NOW
Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

News  

Monday, September 16, 2024

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

During the September 10 presidential debate, President Donald Trump correctly highlighted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s support for gun confiscation. A visibly defensive Harris claimed, “We're not taking anybody's guns away. So stop with the ...

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

Monday, October 21, 2024

Florida: Vote "YES" on Amendment 2 - Protect the Right to Fish & Hunt

The upcoming 2024 General Election puts forth a proposal to Florida voters on the ballot to amend the State Constitution to affirm and protect Floridians' Right to Fish and Hunt. Amendment 2 states:

Kamala Harris’s 2020 Running Mate Calls Trump Supporters “Garbage”

News  

Monday, November 4, 2024

Kamala Harris’s 2020 Running Mate Calls Trump Supporters “Garbage”

America hasn’t heard much from Joe Biden recently. You remember … Joe Biden?

NRA Files Official Protest to Bears Ears Shooting Closure

News  

Monday, November 4, 2024

NRA Files Official Protest to Bears Ears Shooting Closure

On Friday, NRA-ILA and other sportsmen’s groups filed a formal protest against the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to close recreational shooting access to 1.3 million acres in the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

News  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is an Existential Threat to the Second Amendment and Supports Gun Confiscation

Since President Joe Biden unceremoniously dropped out, or was forced out, of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, Vice President Kamala Harris has been effectively coronated as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

News  

Monday, October 28, 2024

Kamala’s Big Problem: She’s Already Shown Us Who She Is

At a town hall event on October 21 in Royal Oak, Michigan, Democrat presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how she would make “impactful and immediate progress around gun violence” if she was ...

The Choice is Clear: OPPOSE Kamala Harris and Her Extreme Anti-Gun Record

News  

Monday, November 4, 2024

The Choice is Clear: OPPOSE Kamala Harris and Her Extreme Anti-Gun Record

Kamala Harris has made it an easy choice for gun owners on November 5.

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

News  

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Kamala Harris’ Record on Gun Control and Second Amendment

Vice President Kamala Harris has consistently campaigned for draconian gun control laws, which severely limit the rights of lawful gun owners.

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

News  

Saturday, May 18, 2024

NRA’s Political Victory Fund Endorses President Donald J. Trump

Today, the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is honored to announce its full endorsement of President Donald J. Trump for re-election to a second term as President of the United States of America. ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.