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Under pressure: victim withdrawal and police officer workload

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  • Kirchmaier, Tom
  • Oparina, Ekaterina

Abstract

This paper addresses the relationship between a police officer's workload and the likelihood of statement withdrawal of domestic abuse victims. We focus our analysis on high-risk cases reported to Greater Manchester Police from January 2014 to March 2019. Using this unique dataset, combined with institutional knowledge, we show that adding 10 more cases to a police officer's monthly workload is associated with an increase of the probability of statement withdrawal of 3 percentage points, or 17% of the average withdrawal rate in our sample. The increased workload is likely to be the outcome of a substantial reduction in the police budget, implying that this paper provides additional indirect evidence of the secondary costs of austerity policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirchmaier, Tom & Oparina, Ekaterina, 2024. "Under pressure: victim withdrawal and police officer workload," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126826, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:126826
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giovanni Mastrobuoni, 2020. "Crime is Terribly Revealing: Information Technology and Police Productivity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(6), pages 2727-2753.
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    4. Jérôme Adda & Brendon McConnell & Imran Rasul, 2014. "Crime and the Depenalization of Cannabis Possession: Evidence from a Policing Experiment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(5), pages 1130-1202.
    5. Jordi Blanes i Vidal & Tom Kirchmaier, 2018. "The Effect of Police Response Time on Crime Clearance Rates," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(2), pages 855-891.
    6. Thiemo Fetzer, 2019. "Did Austerity Cause Brexit?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(11), pages 3849-3886, November.
    7. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
    8. Adda, Jérôme & McConnell, Brendon & Rasul, Imran, 2014. "Crime and the depenalization of cannabis possession: evidence," Economics Working Papers ECO2014/05, European University Institute.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    workload; productivity; police; austerity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • H39 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Other
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War

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