Hiring more officers to fight crime: Evaluation of U.S.’s 100.000 more police officers policy and lessons for Turkey

Crime has been one of the most attention-getting issues for decades. Public administrators, police officials, citizens and media highlight crime stories. Television channels and social media rumors disseminate dramatic crime victimizations. Accordingly, politicians always vocalize policies to fight crime and provide effective policing services. Easiest way to be seen tough on crime is hiring more law enforcement officers. Almost every country, aims to increase number of police officers for security services. It is theoretically expected that more officers enables police agencies to be more effective and successful in fight crime and criminals. Nevertheless, the common belief that hiring more officers makes police agencies more successful in policing services is not evaluated scientifically. Even though, police organizations’ potential improves due to increase in personnel, how it reverberated in police practices and in fight against crime is overlooked. This study aims to evaluate the US’s 100.000 new police officers policy and implications and lessons for other countries, particularly for Turkey, those employ more officers to fight crime. Findings indicate that more officers will not have substantial effect on crime if human resources are not use efficiently and effectively.