NCJ Number
68755
Journal
Public Productivity Review Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: (WINTER 1979) Pages: 43-50
Date Published
1979
Length
8 pages
Annotation
WHILE THOSE STATES WHICH COMMIT MORE RESOURCES TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE DO NOT NECESSARILY EXPERIENCE LOWER CRIME RATES, THERE IS SOME INDICATION THAT A RICHER MIX OF POLICE MAY REDUCE CRIME RATES.
Abstract
ATTEMPTS TO RELATE CRIME TO THE RESOURCES USED FOR ITS CONTROL INVOLVE CONCEPTUAL DILEMMAS, SUCH AS COMPARING CRIME QUANTITY AND QUALITY AND COMPARING CRIME RATES AND RESOURCE LEVELS AMONG STATES THAT HAVE DIFFERENT SOCIECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS. MOREOVER, THIS ANALYSIS DEALS WITH REPORTED RATHER THAN ACTUAL CRIME RATES. USING AGGREGATE DATA, THIS STUDY ATTEMPTS TO MEASURE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE TOTALITY OF ITS CAPABILITY TO PREVENT CRIME, BE IT THROUGH REHABILITATION, SPECIFIC DETERRENCE, INCAPACITATION, OR GENERAL DETERRENCE. SERIOUS CRIME RATES ARE CORRELATED WITH SUCH INDICATORS OF STATE CRIME CONTROL EXPENDITURES AS TOTAL DIRECT STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE EXPENDITURE PER 100,000 POPULATION, TOTAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIRECT EXPENDITURES AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL DIRECT STATE EXPENDITURES, AND TOTAL DIRECT STATE EXPENDITURE FOR POLICE SERVICES PER 100,000 IN STATE POPULATION. ALL CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS ARE SHOWN TO BE SIGNIFICANT AT THE .001 LEVEL. HOWEVER, ALL COEFFEICIENTS ARE POSITIVE AND INDICATE A DIRECT RATHER THAN AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIMINAL JUSTICE EXPENDITURES AND CRIME. THUS THE PROPOSITION THAT GREATER EXPENDITURES BY STATES ON CRIME CONTROL WILL TEND TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE CRIME IS NOT SUBSTANTIATED. SERIOUS CRIME RATES CORRELATED WITH NUMBERS OF FULL-TIME CRIMINAL JUSTICE EMPLOYEES, AND THEIR PROPORTION OF TOTAL STATE EMPLOYEES. THE NUMBERS OF FULL-TIME POLICE SHOW THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE CRIME RATE TO BE SAME AS FOR EXPENDITURE INDICATORS. YET, THE RELATIONSHIP OF POLICE EMPLOYEES AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE EMPLOYEES TO THE CRIME RATE SHOWS A NEGATIVE CORRELATION, IMPLYING THE RICHER THE MIX OF POLICE MANPOWER IN THE STATE'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, THE LOWER THE REPORTED CRIME. IT MAY BE USEFUL TO INVESTIGATE POLICE CRIME CONTROL CAPABILITIES IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER SEGMENTS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE. TABLES AND FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED.