Rising Police Costs

There is rising policy concern in Canada over growing policing costs given that crime rates have fallen dramatically in recent years. Between 2001 and 2012, police officers per 100,000 of population in Canada rose 8.7% while the crime rate declined by 26.3%.
This was accompanied by growing expenditures and a decline in work- load as measured by criminal code incidents per officer. Real per capita police expenditures in Canada between 1986 and 2012 rose 45.5% while criminal code incidents per officer declined by 36.8%.
Public debate on rising police costs must be considered in the context of increasing overall public spending in Canada and a more complex society. Policing has evolved beyond just dealing with crime and includes a wider range