How many Americans does it take to police America and all the other places the US feels it necessary to occupy and/or police?
2006-10-23 00:01:38 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Hi there,
I did similar research for my blog on comparing police officer numbers in the UK to the rest of the 'western' world.
Can't help you on the military side of things, but on the police side of things here's a comparison of western country's police officer numbers per 100,000 head of population.
Figures taken for a House of Commons debate dated and still being quoted in 2003, therefore possibly a bit off for 2006.
Portugal 481
Greece 426
France 397
Austria 330
Spain 312
Ireland 302
Luxembourg 300
Netherlands 269
Germany 262
USA 238
England and Wales 235
Australia 228
Japan 208
Korea 204
Switzerland 201
Denmark 195
Norway 192
Turkey 190
New Zealand 185
Canada 184
Belgium 183
Sweden 181
Italy 169
Finland 154
India 134
According to another report as detailed in sources area, the current 2006 number of police officers per 100,000 head of UK population stands at 267. Which on earlier figures would still only place the UK 9th in 2000's league table. This is also assuming that the other countries listed haven't increased their numbers since the earlier report.
As I said, my research was specifically for my blog and aimed at the knee-jerk reaction of jumping on the band wagon every time the newest 'fad' report on how things should be done policing and crime wise is published in the UK.
My research obviously has a UK bias, but I hope it can partially answer your question regarding police officer numbers in the US.
2006-10-26 02:20:49 · answer #1 · answered by blues and twos 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lisa P do you really believe that?
1/ Your are obviously referring to the total population which is currently nudging 300 million -- a 50 m. difference!
2/"Most Americans are raised to watch out for suspicious activity" Maybe. But few act on reporting or actively discouraging illegal activity preferring not becoming involved treating it as a spectator "sport".
3/ "Most Americans own guns". Really --"Most"? They may often have access or right to purchase but less than 15% actually do: in some jurisdictions it is mandatory; in others illegal. Incidentally the majority of woundings/deaths amongst military/police/citizens occur from the owners own gun.
4/ "We have low crime rate/violence for our nation". I could readily name 50 nations from Europe/Asia/Africa/Pacific that don't have gun cultures that have immensely lower rates. You call that "get[ting] by just fine"?
5/ "But we ALWAYS are ready to defend our freedoms". Freedoms or prestige/self interest?
2006-10-23 01:45:36 · answer #2 · answered by malancam55 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the US population is approximately 300 million.
Our US military is made up of approximately 1,300,000 men and women.
There are approximately 800,000 sworn officers in the U.S.
This means that approximately .7% of the US population is involved in military or policing.
2006-10-23 02:28:25 · answer #3 · answered by okchico 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
about 250 million people participate in policing efforts/military...most Americans are raised to watch out for suspicious activity. Most Americans own guns, but can only use them to hunt, or if they feel that their life is in immediate danger, they can kill in self-defense, but if that happens you have to go to court and prove that it was self-defense. We have low crime rate/violence for our nation, and we get by just fine. But we ALWAYS are ready to protect our freedoms.
2006-10-23 00:03:12 · answer #4 · answered by LISA P 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
don't know percentage but has 1.4 million active service men and women and uses about 7 percent of countries budjet
2006-10-23 00:13:10 · answer #5 · answered by kevin d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My guess its less than one percent of the total population.
2006-10-23 00:07:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋