Urban Law Enforcement in Canada - An Empirical Analysis

• NCJ Number: 78835
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Economics Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1981) Pages: 44-57
• Author(s): W J Furlong; S L Mehay
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 14 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Canada Solicitor General
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: Earlier version of this paper presented at the Southern Economic Association meetings in Washington, DC.

Annotation

This paper examines the issue of crime deterrence as supplied by a single urban law enforcement agency.

Abstract

A simultaneous model consisting of the supply of offences, police production function, and police deployment function is specified and estimated. Account is also taken of crime spillovers among observations and the daily mobility patterns of the population. The deterrent impact of police output is confirmed, but the link between police inputs and the production of deterrence is found to be weak. Consideration of the population's mobility significantly reduces the effect on crime rates of socio-economic factors such as unemployment. (Author abstract)