Policeman on the Frontline or a Soldier? The Effect of Police Militarization on Crime

36 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2015

See all articles by Vincenzo Bove

Vincenzo Bove

University of Warwick - Department of Politics and International Studies

Evelina Gavrilova

Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) - Department of Business and Management Science

Date Written: October 23, 2015

Abstract

Recently a considerable popular debate has been dedicated to the issue of “police militarization”. We investigate whether the “1033 Program”, which allows local law enforcement agencies to acquire excess property of the US Department of Defense, affects crime rates. To identify the causal effect of militarized policing on crime, we use temporal variations in US military expenditure and between-counties variations in the odds to receive a positive amount of military aid. We find that (i) military aid reduces street-level crimes; (ii) the program is cost-effective; and (iii) there is evidence in favor of a deterrence mechanism.

Keywords: police, crime, militarization, 1033 Program

JEL Classification: K42, H49, H76

Suggested Citation

Bove, Vincenzo and Gavrilova, Evelina, Policeman on the Frontline or a Soldier? The Effect of Police Militarization on Crime (October 23, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2678967 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2678967

Vincenzo Bove (Contact Author)

University of Warwick - Department of Politics and International Studies ( email )

Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom

Evelina Gavrilova

Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) - Department of Business and Management Science ( email )

Helleveien 30
Bergen, 5045
Norway
4741152047 (Phone)

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