📢 Justice Alert: More Law Enforcement Spending Accompanies Worse, Not Improved Crime-solving

• Law enforcement’s declining effectiveness is the problem, not their lack of resources.

While the number of sworn officers and deputies per capita has decreased slightly and the total number of law enforcement personnel has increased by just 0.7% (Figure 1), per capita department spending has surged by 46% since 1990. The stark 41% drop in crime clearances over this period (CJCJ, 2024) should not result from this slight decrease in sworn officers per capita or increased overall staffing and funding. Moreover, the number of sworn officers and law enforcement staff has grown substantially when compared to reported crimes. Since 1990, total law enforcement staff per 1,000 reported crimes has risen 144% and sworn officers per 1,000 crimes grew 129% (Figure 2).

• Justice reforms are being wrongly blamed for law enforcement failures.

If viral videos of retail thefts and sensational claims have led the public and lawmakers to believe that individuals are ​“getting away with crime,” the fault does not lie with soft-on-crime policies or lenient prosecutors. Incarcerations per arrest are higher today than in the ​“tough on crime” 1990s, even accounting for temporary COVID-related reductions (CJCJ 2024).

Police departments consume more resources than ever while solving fewer crimes. This is a crisis of resource misallocation and operational inefficiency. Officers might also be protesting reforms through intentional work slowdowns. This unprecedented inefficiency is enough to erode public confidence in law enforcement’s ability to protect communities.

The steep decline in police performance, despite rising costs, demands serious scrutiny. Local jurisdictions should refocus police efforts on core law enforcement duties rather than diverting them to non-criminal tasks.

• Increased police department funding is associated with worse crime-solving and more crime.

Our 20-year analysis of California’s 51 major cities shows that increased law enforcement budgets and personnel correlate with significantly worse crime clearance rates and higher crime incidence (see Appendix). This trend has occurred both before the justice reform era (2003−2009) and during recent reform years (2010−2022), indicating that reforms have had little to no impact on these outcomes.

Conclusion

For decades, law enforcement lobbyists argued that additional funding and officers would improve community safety and solve more crimes. Yet the data tell a different story: increased spending, officers, and staffing have coincided with fewer crimes solved and higher crime rates. This alarming trend long preceded the reform era and has continued throughout, proving that reforms are not responsible.

These failed investments have exposed a deep-seated inefficiency crisis in law enforcement that demands urgent attention and accountability. Local governments and policymakers must rethink public safety policies, redirect resources toward proven solutions, and hold police agencies accountable for their performance. Now is the time to reassess law enforcement investments and demand results — not excuses.

References

California Department of Finance (DOF). (2024). Demographic Research Unit. Estimates. At: https://​dof​.ca​.gov/​f​o​r​e​c​a​s​t​i​n​g​/​d​e​m​o​g​r​a​p​h​i​c​s​/​e​s​t​i​m​ates/.

California Department of Justice (DOJ). (2024). Crime in California, 1985 – 2023. Arrests. Crimes and Clearances. Law enforcement personnel. At: https://​open​jus​tice​.doj​.ca​.gov/data; https://​open​jus​tice​.doj​.ca​.gov/​r​e​s​o​u​r​c​e​s​/​p​u​b​l​i​c​a​tions.

California Office of the Controller (Controller). (2024). City data. At: https://​cities​.bythenum​bers​.sc…. County data. At: https://​coun​ties​.bythenum​bers​.sco​.ca​.gov/​#​!​/​y​e​a​r​/​2​0​2​2​/​o​p​e​r​a​t​i​n​g​/​0​/​e​n​t​i​t​y​_name. Budgetary/​Legal Basis Annual Report. At: https://​www​.sco​.ca​.gov/​a​r​d​_​s​t​a​t​e​_​a​n​n​u​a​l​_​b​u​d​g​e​t​a​r​y​.html.

Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ). (2024). Explore Law Enforcement Budget and Clearance Data. At: https://​www​.cjcj​.org/​r​e​p​o​r​t​s​-​p​u​b​l​i​c​a​t​i​o​n​s​/​r​e​p​o​r​t​/​c​harts.

Sheeler, A. (2024). California cops get billions in funding, yet solve just 13% of crimes, new report says. Sacramento Bee, 14 February 2024. At: https://​www​.sacbee​.com/​n​e​w​s​/​p​o​l​i​t​i​c​s​-​g​o​v​e​r​n​m​e​n​t​/​c​a​p​i​t​o​l​-​a​l​e​r​t​/​a​r​t​i​c​l​e​2​8​5​4​3​0​2​6​2​.html.