Targeting Opportunities for Shared Police Services

Abstract

Using New York municipalities as the units of analysis, we estimate a probit model examining the factors that drive the municipal decision to either maintain its own police force or rely on the county or state police for local policing. Our research considers how demographic changes over time may influence a municipality to eventually establish a police force, disband its existing force, or continue to rely on county or state law enforcement. The probit results are used to formulate a decision matrix to inform public policymakers as to what types of municipalities offer favorable opportunities for shared police initiatives. Results indicate that municipalities with a police force that are losing population and have income levels rising at an annual rate lower than the state average are prime candidates for shared police services. Municipalities that do not currently have a police force, are growing in population, and have income growth that outpaces the state average are also ideal for shared service targeting.

Keywords:

• contracting
• municipal expenditures
• policing
• shared services