An Econometric Method of Allocating Police Resources

Abstract

Traditionally, police agencies have allocated resources in response to their operational demands or requirements, with the majority of resources being distributed in response to political demands and public calls for service. The changing operating environment to a public service ethos of accountability and ‘do more with less' means that historical methods of allocating police officers may not meet an agency's strategic goals. The relationship between social, economic and demographic factors with the number of police officers is not well understood. This study examines this issue through the presentation of the econometric method of Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) linear regression based on New Zealand social data for the period 1997 to 2002. A model, Police Resource (PRM), is developed and used as the basis to investigate a resource allocation formula for the New Zealand Police. The findings identify that the econometric resource allocation model developed is more defensible than the allocation method currently used by the New Zealand Police or any allocation method based solely on population.