The Effect of Mass Police Layoffs on Crime: Evidence from A Natural Experiment in Camden, NJ

• In Event: Challenges in Police Management

Abstract

The financial downturn in 2008 created an economic burden for a large number of municipalities. In an attempt to alleviate some of the financial troubles cities are facing, the public sector, including police, fire, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) departments have been downsized. One of the largest mass layoffs of police officers occurred in Camden, NJ in January 2011 when the police force halved in size. Over the next two years, Camden has managed to hire back large numbers of officers and, in January 2013, responsibility for law enforcement was reverted to the newly formed Camden County police department metro division. This mass layoff and subsequent increase in police manpower creates a unique opportunity to isolate exogenous variation in police force size. We use this natural experiment to isolate the causal effect of variation in sworn police strength on crime.

Authors

• Andrew Gilchrist, University of Cincinnati

• Aaron Chalfin, University of Cincinnati