Pros & Cons of Police Departments Consolidating

Solitary police departments have more maintenance costs than consolidated jurisdictions.

Police departments' costs will steadily increase as the population continues to rise. More people require more policing and service. As of 2010, consolidating police departments has become a practical means to deal with the extra financial burdens placed on individual departments.

Pros

According to government service representatives and academic law experts, consolidating departments is cost effective, gives smaller departments access to previously unavailable resources, and could decrease duplicate efforts performed by different departments. A larger pool of officers can provide consistent enforcement, improved training and wider distribution. Centralized record keeping, laboratories and services are all possible through consolidation. Accountability and management could also improve through effective consolidation planning.

Cons

Mismanaged consolidation planning and impractical goals could undermine the entire cost-driven consolidation focus, according to academic law experts. Smaller departments may not have as strong a voice as larger departments, and individual forces will lose some autonomy. Additionally, police forces may routinely concentrate on high crime areas in a jurisdiction, while low population areas are all but forgotten. The "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" reports current residents and neighborhoods may also lose contact with their normal patrol officers.

Expert Insight

The small town of Clay, Colorado, consolidated its department within county police forces in 2008. A public vote passed, and it was able to save more than a million dollars a year, according to the Sheriff's Office.

References

• Post Gazette: 14 Towns Discuss Police Consolidation
• Brain Mass: Consolidation of Police Services