Data and Code for: Police Force Size and Civilian Race

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Aaron Chalfin, University of Pennsylvania. Department of Criminology; Benjamin Hansen, University of Oregon Department of Economics; Emily Weisburst, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs; Morgan Williams, New York University

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  ado 05/28/2021 03:15:PM
  analysis 05/28/2021 02:45:PM
  dataprocess 04/20/2021 05:38:PM
  output 03/24/2021 01:48:PM
README.pdf application/pdf 84 KB 06/02/2021 08:22:AM
SetUpNote-ado.pdf application/pdf 27.2 KB 05/28/2021 11:15:AM

Project Citation: 

Chalfin, Aaron, Hansen, Benjamin, Weisburst, Emily , and Williams, Morgan . Data and Code for: Police Force Size and Civilian Race. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2022. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-05-25. https://doi.org/10.3886/E135761V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary We report the first empirical estimates of the race-specific effects of larger police forces in the United States. Each additional police officer abates approximately 0.1 homicides. In per capita terms, effects are twice as large for Black versus white victims. Larger police forces also make fewer arrests for serious crimes, with larger reductions for crimes with Black suspects, implying that police force growth does not increase racial disparities among the most serious charges. At the same time, larger police forces make more arrests for low-level "quality of life" offenses, with effects that imply a disproportionate impact for Black Americans. 

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Police; Homicide; Deterrence; Racial Disparities; Police; Arrests
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      H72 State and Local Budget and Expenditures
      J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
      J18 Demographic Economics: Public Policy
      K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1/1/1981 – 12/31/2018


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V1 [2022-05-25]

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