In recent years, there's been a lot of talk about reducing the police force and even defunding police departments. The people who support this idea seem to believe that police officers are mostly bad people who are just looking to hurt innocent citizens, and they do more harm than good.

This perspective isn't true and is likely skewed due to a constant stream of viral social media videos showcasing cops behaving badly. While nobody is denying that some police officers do terrible things, it's not an accurate representation of the profession as a whole. 

Most officers go into their line of work because they want to make a difference for people and communities, and are willing to risk their lives in the process. This truth is the reason non-profit organizations, like the National Police Association (NPA), work so hard to educate the public and bring support for law enforcement to local communities.

As it stands, police officers are already retiring and quitting in droves faster than ever before. Many officers are quitting because they can no longer take the impact of anti-police rhetoric, and that's also a deterrent for new recruits. There is a major shortage of law enforcement officers across the United States, and because the job has become more stressful than ever, it's not easy for departments to attract new recruits.

The truth is that we need more police officers, not less, to create healthy, local communities.

Here are the top 3 reasons local communities benefit from more police presence.

  1. More police presence lowers the crime rate

Many studies have been performed over the years to see if a higher police presence has a positive impact on crime, and these studies show it does. Adding more police officers to patrol neighborhoods does decrease the crime rate.

For example, in one study, researchers analyzed data obtained from the FBI and other public sources spanning from 1981-2018 and covering 242 cities. They found that adding a new police officer to a city lowers the homicide rate and reduces robbery, aggravated assault, and rape.

  1. More police officers create the opportunity for earning respect

An important benefit to having more officers patrolling communities is the increase in opportunities to earn that community's respect. Neighborhoods thrive when residents know and respect the police officers who serve them, and police officers deserve to feel appreciated by the communities they serve. The simple presence of more law enforcement officers is an opportunity to create strong relationships.

  1. Communities need armed police to respond to calls

Regarding the idea that police departments should be defunded and social workers should be sent out to handle calls that deal with psychiatric emergencies, there are several reasons this is a bad idea. The main reason is that it would endanger social workers. Situations can escalate to violence really fast, which can leave a social worker injured or even get them killed.

When someone places a call to 911, they're not going to know if the situation they're reporting requires armed police or a social worker. That means the 911 dispatcher would need to rely on the caller's description of the situation to make a judgment call regarding who to dispatch to the scene. That's a lot of pressure to place on a dispatcher, who is likely to make incorrect judgment calls. Anytime the dispatcher makes the wrong call and a social worker gets hurt, the lawsuits will pile up against the city. Plus, cops don't get enough credit for successfully handling mental crisis calls in ways that social workers wouldn't.

Adding police isn't enough – they need skills

As with any profession, just being qualified to do the job isn't enough. Just because an officer passed the academy and has a badge and a gun doesn't mean they know how to prevent crime and keep people safe. Police officers need to know how to do their job in a way that elicits the results they're after. Sometimes that's a bit trickier than it seems because law enforcement doesn't just exist to “get the bad guys.” They also need to be present in communities and build trust. That's one of the hardest parts of the job because of the anti-police rhetoric they have to constantly combat.

Increasing police presence in neighborhoods is a great idea and backed up by data to effectively reduce crime. However, officers also need high-level skills to build strong communities, in addition to their other duties, if they want to create relationships that make their presence a positive experience for everyone.