Economics of Policing

Policing is complex. No easy measures exist for determining efficiency, effectiveness or equity in the overall economics of police service. Perhaps this is related to the fact that the debate on issues like core policing and tiered policing is both contentious and not well understood. For example, dealing with mental health issues in vulnerable communities may not be considered core policing in some discussions but it certainly remains an important element of and a key activity in contemporary policing. We are, nevertheless, making major advances in the 21st Century. Simple crime rate or response time measures have some meaning, but the multi-agency, multi-role character of policing calls for better measures that take into account the underlying public meaning of crime, the varying demands for police service in different jurisdictions, and the rapid increase in cyber crime.

Overall, ICURS found that the demand for police services has been increasing over the past ten years through increases in non-criminal calls for policing, continuing increases in the legal complexity of equitable handling of cases, the growing policing response to mental health and addiction needs, and the increases in technical demands on services. While we document here a range of changes to the way policing ‘gets done’ in the Canada, it is important to state at the outset, that it is the police and civilian staff, at a local level, who must respond to an increasingly dynamic set of requirements and expectations. Police agencies, large or small, urban, rural or remote, must adapt to increased pressure in their daily work and are required to serve multiple, and at times, seemingly incongruent roles. These pressures stem from internal and external forces, reflecting, we believe, an evolving social and economic context in our communities.