Worcester PD is One of the Most Cost Effective Police Departments in U.S.

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Wednesday, February 04, 2015

GoLocal Worcester News Team

According to a new report released by WalletHub, 2015′s Cities with the Best and Worst ROI on Police Spending, the Worcester Police Department has one of the best return on investments in the United States. Out of 110 major cities, Worcester ranked 14th.

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WalletHub calculated each city’s ROI on police spending based on crime rates and per-capita expenditures on police forces. Their data is based off of fiscal year 2011.

Wallethub adjusted the return on investment by looking at poverty rate, unemployment rate and median household income. Wallethub measured police effectiveness in the face of budgetary constraints by dividing the total safety rate (100% minus property and violent crime rates) by police spending per capita.

According to Wallethub, "The adjusted “police spending per capita” measure assumes all cities have an average for each of the three factors. This allowed us to compare return on investment of police spending net of cross-city differences in these key economic indicators."

When these factors aren't taken into consideration (the unadjusted ROI), Worcester ranks even better, coming in at #8 out of 110.

Worcester spends $214 per capita (8th lowest in the country) and its crime rate per capita is 4.32% (32nd in the country).

Springfield, MA finished at #4 overall, while Boston was towards the end of the pack at #91.

Source: WalletHub