NCJ Number
217936
Journal
Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2007 Pages: 159-190
Date Published
February 2007
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This paper presents a panel data analysis of the effect of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funding on crime.
Abstract
Overall findings suggest that the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) spending had little to no effect on crime. The debate over whether COPS spending has reduced crime is the latest development in a decades-old debate over the links between policing and crime. Several researchers have begun exploring whether COPS money has been well spent. Using 6 years of panel data, researchers in 2002 found that funding from COPS reduced property and violent crime in large United States cities. This COPS data was merged with 11 years of panel data from a sample of 189 large cities, prior to the COPS program. Pre-existing effects on crime of police spending was controlled for. A robust check was performed and State-specific effects of COPS spending were explored. After a brief review of the literature, this paper presents the results of the panel data analysis of the effect of COPS funding on crime. Tables and references