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Content: Since 1995, the year after the landmark national crime bill went into effect, the U.S. homicide rate has dropped by a third. Police spending per capita, however, has increased by 46 percent nationally — and in some cities, by far more. Percent change in homicide rate and police spending, 1994-2017
Studies have shown that an increase in sworn police officers reducesinstancesof crime. However, increases in other factors — such as social welfare, access to health care, employmentand other social services— have also been shown to decrease crime rates. It’s unclear the extent to which increases in police spending are responsible for falling rates of violent crime. “The perception was that the police have a direct relationship with crime, so the more police ... the lower the rate of crime, we thought. But that has not been the case for some time,” said Dr. Howard Henderson, founding director of the Texas Southern University Center for Justice Research. “ There are other factors that are at play that affect that relationship beyond simply just the police's presence.” Advertisement
Many cities with similar homicide rates spend vastly different amounts on policing, POLITICO found. For example, both Long Beach, Calif., and Mesa, Ariz., saw 4.7 homicides per 100,000 population in 2017.