NCJ Number
54541
Journal
Public Finance Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (1977) Pages: 111-118
Date Published
1977
Length
8 pages
Annotation
ARGUING THAT SHOUP'S STANDARDS FOR POLICE ALLOCATION DO NOT ALLOW FOR CRIME DISPLACEMENT FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER, A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR RESOURCE ALLOCATION IS DEVELOPED, TAKING DISPLACEMENT INTO ACCOUNT.
Abstract
THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION EQUATIONS PRESENTED ASSUME THAT IF POLICE MANPOWER IS CONTINUALLY INCREASED TO REACH A CERTAIN LEVEL IN ONE DISTRICT, THEN CRIMINALS IN THAT DISTRICT MAY SIMPLY SHIFT THEIR BASE OF OPERATIONS TO NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS WITHOUT CURTAILING THEIR ACTIVITY. THIS EFFECT IS ILLUSTRATED THROUGH AN APPLICATION OF A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION TO THE EQUATIONS DEVELOPED. A GRAPHIC DERIVATION OF THE PRODUCTION TRANSFORMATION FRONTIER OF CRIME REDUCTION IS PRESENTED, USING TWO HYPOTHETICAL POLICE DISTRICTS. CRIME CONDITIONS IN DISTRICT B RESULTING FROM VARYING INCREASES OF POLICE ALLOCATION IN DISTRICT A ARE INDICATED AND DISCUSSED. A FIXED RESOURCE OF MANPOWER IS ASSUMED AVAILABLE TO BE DISTRIBUTED BETWEEN THE TWO DISTRICTS. VARYING CONDITIONS OF THE SOCIAL COSTS OF CRIME IN EACH DISTRICT ARE RELATED TO VARYING COMBINATIONS OF POLICE RESOURCE ALLOCATION TO SHOW OPTIMUM RESOURCE ALLOCATION. IT IS NOTED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS NOT TO EXHAUST ALL COMBINATIONS OF EVENTS, SINCE THE CHOICE OF STANDARD FOR POLICE OBJECTIVES, THE TYPE OF EXTERNALITY CONDITIONS WHICH ACTUALLY EXIST, AND THE RESPONSES OF CRIMINALS TO VARYING POLICE ALLOCATIONS CAN ONLY BE DETERMINED THROUGH EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)