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

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  • Vincenzo Bove
  • Evelina Gavrilova

Abstract

Sparked by high-profile confrontations between police and citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere, many commentators have criticized the excessive militarization of law enforcement. We investigate whether surplus military-grade equipment acquired by local police departments from the Pentagon has an effect on crime rates. We use temporal variations in US military expenditure and between-counties variation in the odds of receiving a positive amount of military aid to identify the causal effect of militarized policing on crime. We find that (i) military aid reduces street-level crime; (ii) the program is cost-effective; and (iii) there is evidence in favor of a deterrence mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincenzo Bove & Evelina Gavrilova, 2017. "Police Officer on the Frontline or a Soldier? The Effect of Police Militarization on Crime," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:9:y:2017:i:3:p:1-18
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20150478
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mirko Draca & Stephen Machin & Robert Witt, 2011. "Panic on the Streets of London: Police, Crime, and the July 2005 Terror Attacks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 2157-2181, August.
    2. Stephen Machin & Olivier Marie, 2011. "Crime And Police Resources: The Street Crime Initiative," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 678-701, August.
    3. Klick, Jonathan & Tabarrok, Alexander, 2005. "Using Terror Alert Levels to Estimate the Effect of Police on Crime," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(1), pages 267-279, April.
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    6. Matthew C. Harris & Jinseong Park & Donald J. Bruce & Matthew N. Murray, 2017. "Peacekeeping Force: Effects of Providing Tactical Equipment to Local Law Enforcement," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 291-313, August.
    7. Ron Smith, 2009. "Power and Money," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Military Economics, chapter 2, pages 19-53, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Rafael Di Tella & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2004. "Do Police Reduce Crime? Estimates Using the Allocation of Police Forces After a Terrorist Attack," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 115-133, March.
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    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Law and Economics > Economics of Crime > Crime Prevention > Police Funding > Impact

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    Cited by:

    1. Masera, Federico, 2021. "Police safety, killings by the police, and the militarization of US law enforcement," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Nils Braakmann, 2022. "Does stop and search reduce crime? Evidence from street‐level data and a surge in operations following a high‐profile crime," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1370-1397, July.
    3. Crinò, Rosario & Immordino, Giovanni & Piccolo, Salvatore, 2019. "Marginal deterrence at work," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 586-612.
    4. Noghanibehambari, Hamid & Tavassoli, Nahid, 2022. "An ounce of prevention, a pound of cure: The effects of college expansions on crime," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Insler, Michael A. & McMurrey, Bryce & McQuoid, Alexander F., 2019. "From broken windows to broken bonds: Militarized police and social fragmentation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 43-62.
    6. Andrea Silva & Diego Esparza, 2021. "Explaining the American crisis of policing: Media, malfeasance, and racial prejudice," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3103-3113, December.
    7. Federico Masera, 2021. "Violent Crime and the Overmilitarization of US Policing," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 37(3), pages 479-511.
    8. Aldo Pignataro, 2021. "Becoming member of the European Union: What is the relationship with the robbery rate?," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 533-558, May.
    9. He, Xiaoyu & Mei, Yixin, 2024. "Can arms breed peace? The consequence of arms imports from the US on civil wars," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 207-229.
    10. Crum, John D. & Corradi, A. & Ramey, D.M., 2024. "For law enforcement purposes: The complicated relationship between the 1033 program and the expanding police mandate," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Arvate, Paulo & Souza, André Portela, 2022. "Armed police and violence: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in Brazil," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    12. Christos Mavridis & Orestis Troumpounis & Maurizio Zanardi, 2021. "Police Militarization and Local Elections," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0221, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    13. Ajilore, Olugbenga, 2017. "Is There a 1033 Effect? Police Militarization and Aggressive Policing," MPRA Paper 82543, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Robynn Cox & Jamein P. Cunningham, 2021. "Financing The War On Drugs: The Impact Of Law Enforcement Grants On Racial Disparities In Drug Arrests," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 191-224, January.
    15. Federico Masera, 2022. "The economics of policing and crimeThe economics of policing and crime," Chapters, in: Paolo Buonanno & Paolo Vanin & Juan Vargas (ed.), A Modern Guide to the Economics of Crime, chapter 2, pages 12-29, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Christos Mavridis & Orestis Troumpounis & Maurizio Zanardi, 2022. "Protests and Police Militarization," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0122, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    17. Carriere Kevin R. & Encinosa William, 2017. "The Risks of Operational Militarization: Increased Conflict Against Militarized Police," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 23(3), pages 1-13, August.
    18. Koslicki, Wendy M. & Willits, Dale W. & Brooks, Rachael, 2021. "Fatal outcomes of militarization: Re-examining the relationship between the 1033 Program and police deadly force," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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