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November 15, 2006

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Taken from 'Places Rated Almanac, Millenium edition'

Page: 377


"Most metro areas have between one and three sworn uniformed officers for every 1,000 residents. In Manhattan, there are 1,300 police officers per square mile. In sparsely populated parts of Alaska and the Canadian Yukon and other Northwest territories, there are none.

It's natural to think personal safety in a metro area rises or falls in proportion to the size of the local police force, but it just isn't so. Police enforce traffic codes, investigate accidents, find lost children, and calm down fighting spouses.

They battle crime, too, but most of what they do is after the fact. They respond to complaints; they interview victims and fill out reports; they follow up on tips; and they collar suspects and book them.

Criminologists still recount the famous Kansas City experiment conducted in 1972. Three precincts of the city were selected. In one area, the number of cruisers was doubled; in the control neighborhood, the police maintained usual strength; and in the third area, the police pulled out, entering only in response to calls.

All areas were carefully monitored for a year. The difference in crime rates? Practically none.

A large number of police usually means a high-crime area rather than an area where crime is being foiled. Washington, DC, has the most men and women in blue per capita and it has long experienced one of the highest crime rates in the country, too."

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