About
The Police Funding study has two parts: the first is a longitudinal budget analysis of the 20 largest municipalities in Canada. This analysis aimed to compare police funding across municipalities and over time, compare police funding to other public services, and examine the relationship between police funding and crime rates. The second part of the study is a scoping review and critical discourse analysis aiming to collect health perspectives on the movement to defund police and analyze these emerging discourses.
Impact
This study lays the groundwork for future research into the rationales for resource allocation to law enforcement in Canada, a critical area of study considering the increasing threat that police violence poses with rising budgets. Public resource allocation should be evidence-based in order to best promote the well-being of communities.
Findings
Research Article
Seabrook, M. S. S., Luscombe, A., Balian, N., Lofters, A., Matheson, F. I., O’Neill, B. G., Owusu-Bempah, A., Persaud, N., & Pinto, A. D. (2023). Police Funding and Crime Rates in 20 of Canada’s Largest Municipalities: A Longitudinal Study. Canadian Public Policy, 49(4), 383–398. https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2022-050
Dataset
Seabrook, M., Pinto, A., Luscombe, A., Balian, N., Lofters, A., Matheson, F., O’Neill, B., Owusu-Bempah, A., & Persaud, N. (2024). Police Funding and Crime Rates in 20 of Canada’s Largest Municipalities: A Longitudinal Study (Version V1) [dataset]. Borealis. https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/T1J6EZ
In The Media
- Study finds no link between police budgets and crime rates (CBC Radio The Early Edition)
- Police spending has ‘no consistent correlation’ with lower crime rates, new Canadian study says (Toronto Star)
- U of T Grad Student Mélanie Seabrook, lead author of a new study for the Upstream Lab tells Moore in the Morning that there is “no consistent correlation” between police spending and crime rates in Canada (NEWSTALK1010)
- Higher police spending doesn't equal lower crime rates: Researcher (The London Free Press)
- Police budget increases may not reduce crime rates in Canadian cities, research indicates (CBC Hamilton)
- Spending More Money on Police Shows No Clear Link to Lower Crime Levels (The New York Times)
- Study findings call into question Sudbury’s police hiring spree (Sudbury.com)
- Pas de lien entre le niveau de financement de la police et la criminalité, selon une étude (Radio-Canada)
- Does more money for police translate to lower crime rates? (The Hamilton Spectator)