A memorial to George Floyd killed by Minneapolis police. An economist says more police, not less, is the way to lower crime. | Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia Commons
A memorial to George Floyd killed by Minneapolis police. An economist says more police, not less, is the way to lower crime. | Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia Commons
With crime on the rise in Minneapolis, the city needs more police officers, not fewer, said John Phelan, an economist at the Center of the American Experiment.
He cites a poll from last year, even before the police killing of George Floyd, that showed 63% of Minneapolis residents supported expanding the police force to 850 officers by 2025.
That poll showed that 65% of people of color supported expansion, compared to 61% of white residents.
“The research is pretty clear that more cops means less crime,” Phelan wrote.
He cites a study showing that every $1 spent on police produces $1.63 in social benefits.
“It is still common to hear calls for ‘law and order’ dismissed as some sort of ‘dog whistle’ for white racists,” Phelan wrote. “This polling evidence shows, however, that concern for law and order isn’t limited to such people. Not surprisingly, pretty much all of us, African-Americans included, want our families to live in safe neighborhoods. Statistics show, too, that African-Americans are disproportionately the victims of crime so they understand better than anyone the dangers of crackpot policies like abolishing the police.”
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