Crime, costs, and well being: policing Canadian Aboriginal communities

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the community level factors associated with police strength and operational costs in Aboriginal police services from four different geographic zones, including remote communities inaccessible by road[1]. Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of variance was used to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference in per capita policing costs, the officer to resident ratio, an index of community well-being and crime severity in 236 rural and remote Canadian communities. Findings – The authors found that places that were geographically inaccessible or further from urban areas had rates of police-reported crime several times the national average and low levels of community well-being. Consistent with those results, the per capita costs of policing were many times greater than the national average, in part due to higher officer to resident ratios. Research limitations/implications – These results are from rural Canada and might not be generalizable to other nations. Practical implications – Given the complex needs of these communities, these findings reinforce the importance of delivering full-time professional police services in rural and remote communities. Short duration or temporary postings may reduce police legitimacy as residents may perceive that their rural or Aboriginal status makes them less valued than city dwellers. As a result, agencies should prioritize the retention of experienced officers in these communities. Originality/value – These findings validate the observations of officers about the challenges that must be overcome in policing these distinctive communities. This information can be used to inform future studies of rural and remote policing.

The Sharing Economy: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach to Examine Crime and the Shared Lodging Sector

“…According to Messner et al (1999), less affluent areas are hotbeds for homicide and violent crimes. Similarly, studies in Australia (Hogg and Carrington 2006) and Canada (Lithopoulos and Ruddell 2011; Ruddell, Lithopoulos, and Jones 2014) have indicated above-average crime rates in rural communities, which often is attributable to low economic status.…”

What does robbery really cost? An exploratory study into calculating costs and ‘hidden costs’ of policing opioid-related robbery offences

“…Such difficulties have not, however, stopped individuals and groups from attempting to generate crime costs. One such attempt was made in 2010, when researchers at RAND developed a “cost of crime calculator.” This tool attempts to measure the effects of altering the number of police offers on crime rates within a particular jurisdiction, which is seen by some as informative for policy-makers who are conducting cost–benefit analyses (Ruddell and Jones, 2014). When calculating policing costs, the program looks at the levels of crime reported, perceived societal costs of these offences, and police effectiveness in reducing crime (Ruddell and Jones, 2014).…”

“…One such attempt was made in 2010, when researchers at RAND developed a “cost of crime calculator.” This tool attempts to measure the effects of altering the number of police offers on crime rates within a particular jurisdiction, which is seen by some as informative for policy-makers who are conducting cost–benefit analyses (Ruddell and Jones, 2014). When calculating policing costs, the program looks at the levels of crime reported, perceived societal costs of these offences, and police effectiveness in reducing crime (Ruddell and Jones, 2014). In this process, the societal costs are estimated using accounting-based methods (totaling tangible and intangible costs) and contingent evaluation methods (the willingness of society to pay more taxes to improve crime reduction programs) (Heaton 2010).…”

“…In this process, the societal costs are estimated using accounting-based methods (totaling tangible and intangible costs) and contingent evaluation methods (the willingness of society to pay more taxes to improve crime reduction programs) (Heaton 2010). In a recent paper in which the authors applied the calculator to Canadian data, Ruddell and Jones (2014) found that although the calculator was intended to be used in the United States, it may also be useful in the Canadian context. They tested this idea using data from the Regina Police Service in 2013 (Ruddell and Jones, 2014), observing that the addition of one police officer would produce a $290,215 (CAD) crime reduction benefit.…”

Austerity policing’s imperative

“…This approach has led to some relevant observations, notably the increased burden on police to serve as de facto mental health workers, which results in hours of labor costs associated with, among other tasks, waiting at hospitals to have individuals admitted (Ahlgren, 2015). Although much of the focus in Canada has centered on such service costs within large municipal or regional services, costs associated with policing in rural, remote, and/or northern communities are significantly higher than average due to three factors: economies of scale due to smaller staffing levels, higher staffing costs (remote pay as incentive), and high transport and travel costs associated with moving goods and people in and out of remote areas (Ruddell and Jones, 2014).…”