Recent employment and expenditure trends in city police departments in the United States

Trends in employment and expenditures in thirty-three major city police departments in the United States are separated into two groups and examined for the years 1959 through 1973. Among the items considered are: the size of the growth in city expenditures for the police on an absolute basis and in relation to expenditures for the provision of other services; changes in expenditures for salaries and wages and for the various types of fringe benefits; salary and wage increases for sworn police employees and for supervisory personnel, in inflated and in constant prices; and changes in the size and composition of police work forces. A number of interesting patterns emerge from this analysis and offer the basis for some inferences on possible future disputes and conflicts in this area.