Why do some places have more police presence than others?

Question

In my little podunk town in Mid-Michigan, population 250,000 or so, there are plenty of cop cars roaming the streets. The population is dwindling, yet you still see the cop cars out and about, looking for speeders, you name it.

When I went to college in Ann Arbor, I noticed the police presence was considerably less. You'd see a cop riding around on a bike on campus now and then, and it was rare to see a cop car driving around town. The police were never intimidating. Now in East Lansing, home to MSU, the police were almost paramilitary, riding two to a car, looking for troublemakers...

Why do some towns have more of a police presence than others? Is it a liberal/conservative thing? Ann Arbor is liberal, yet it had crime that would warrant a cop presence.

I've been to a couple other countries too, and it seems to me that America has more of a police presence than any other country.

Does anyone know why?

Answer 1

It's budget and need really. Ann Arbor PD is a great department and there are prob more officers there than you realize. It's actually a sizable force but it also has more ground to cover than your small town.

LOL MSU.....again a great department and sizable but , I think, with a different approach to policing.

Department approach has an affect as well. Some departments are more community policing driven, some aren't.

Departments will design their approach around the needs of the community they serve. Lansing is a town with different crime issues than Ann Arbor and, as such, the approach changes.

Don't count out Ann Arbor though...I have seen their department at full show when the UofM street riots broke out after a victory by the football team a few years ago. They had presence...had it by the truckload.

Answer 2

It's hard to say in the specific examples ya made. Generally, the high presence of police is directly related to the crime rate, and balanced against funding in the budget. Are the towns you mention that county's seat? (county's "capitol" town in other words)?? Or, is there a county jail nearby? Both will cause the area to have a much higher presence. State police/sherrif/city cops will all be in and out all the time, and the need for local cops will be likewise higher.
Or it may be that some of the municipalities have jurisdiction agreements with neighboring areas. The last possibility sounds cynical, but is not at all unheard of..... Money, pure and simple. I forget the town's name, but I saw a "dateline nbc" type show on the subject. They were doing an expose' on the town because it'd become infamous. People were cited for piddly, trumped up crap.
Examples: Signaling 105 feet from an intersection. The book said 100 (i think) feet from the intersection ya use turn signal. 105 feet they said, was the same as leaving it on all the time, decieving other drivers.
Another: Wipers on fast delay. There was a light mist, but no rain, so the guy had his wipers on 5 second delay. Reason: obstructed view! They interpreted the rules to mean that if the wipers are needed at all, they must be used.
Several interviewees also stated that the local police would drive well below the speed limit. Then, they'd pull over, get behind the person who'd been behind them, and cite them for tailgating.
Another: One person was cited as the city had a mandatory headlight ordinance. The visitor did'nt know, or see signs, but was ticketed around midday.
AND: A local was ticketed because his headlights were'nt of the exact same intensity. Both were bright enough to be legal in intensity, but the town had dictated that drivers must have their headlights PAIRED, regardless of whether they're both fine.
Since said town was the county's seat, any attempt to whistlblow, or get out of the ticket would be heard in the very place they'd been cited. (appeals, or reduction of tickets are almost unheard of there).
The show explained that on average, a town,city, county get no more than 5% of their revenue from tickets. Anything above 5% is considered to be way too much, and a thing to be investigated. This place got 30%!! percent of their budget from trafic infractions alone.

Answer 3

You guys are funny. Do you think that "rich" neighborhoods get more police?? The answer is no. (Nice class warfare tactic, by the way)

First of all, police departments usually target higher crime areas with more police presence. Most "rich" neighborhoods have very little crime and very little police patrolling them.

Second, about 99% of police officers are type "A" personalities and do not want to be in an area with nothing to do. They do not hang out in "rich" neighborhoods. They go to where the crime happens. I personally like the police "looking for troublemakers". That way, they are stopped or caught before they cause the rest of us trouble.

Trying to compare a campus setting to a city police force doesn't work. The two styles of policing are completely different. Crimes obviously happen on a campus, but the type and variety are limited.

Without crime stats or personal "beat knowledge" (like where a certain drug dealer sells on Tuesdays), no one can really tell you why the police are in certain spots. Only they know why.

Answer 4

Some communities need more police than others. politics plays into it too. Not in a Liberal Vs. Conservative way, but in that some cities use cops as money makers Also if the citizens want more cops the politicians will find a way to give them more cops.

Answer 5

Its a tax thing, some areas have more police than others.

And on college campus, normally your college police do all of the patrol, and they are controled by the college admin and are normally trained specificly to deal with problems college students have and crimes most commom to college areas.
You will normally see colleges very heavy patroled compared to the area outside of the college in the same town.

Answer 6

Police prescence is scaled due to crime in that area, and also how rich the town is.

Answer 7

Wow in Michigan their is many police becuase their are rough territories.
It is like their everywhere else 2.

Answer 8

they pay for more cops...

I think the city votes on how much of their tax dollars will go to it.

And then they alot it out.

Rich neighborhoods usually have more.

Answer 9

the reason that there are more police officers in certain areas is because there maybe more violence and or cirmes there.

Answer 10

Revenue. It's all about the money, boys.