For about 10 years, there has been debate about the optimal size of the Memphis Police Department and recommendations in various studies have suggested fewer police and more police, understanding that there is no clear correlation between the size of cities’ police forces and their crime rates.
Today, there are 1,981 officers on the Memphis Police Department and it had 2,452 officers in late 2011.
There is general agreement these days that Memphis Police Department is several hundred officers too low, and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has set his goal for an increase in police officers MPD at 400.
The average number of police officers per 10,000 population for cities with more than 500,000 people is 23.7. The Memphis rate today is 31.0, which is lower than cities like Baltimore, St. Louis, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Detroit.
Generally, larger cities have more police officers than smaller and medium-sized cities. On average, cities with populations of at least 50,000 average 15.9; 16.1 for cities with populations between 100,000 and 200,000; and 18.6 for cities with populations between 200,000 and 500,000.
Officers Per 10,000 Population
56.9 – Washington, D.C.
42.6 – Baltimore
41.4 – New York City
40.9 – Philadelphia
39.5 – Birmingham
38.8 – St. Louis
38.3 – Atlanta
36.8 – Newark
34.0 – Rochester, NY
33.5 – Detroit
33.2 – Richmond
33.1 – Charleston, SC
32.2 – Boston
31.7 – Jackson, TN
31.4 – Milwaukee
31.0 – Memphis
28.7 – Kansas City
28.4 – Pittsburgh
28.1 – Buffalo
26.8 – Little Rock
26.8 – Dallas
26.3 – Tampa
26.0 – Orlando
25.9 – San Francisco
25.9 – Miami
24.9 – Los Angeles
24.7 – Chattanooga
22.8 – Houston
21.5 – Denver
21.4 – Knoxville
21.3 – Nashville
21.0 – Charlotte
20.9 – Las Vegas
20.1 – Minneapolis
19.8 – Bartlett
19.2 – Tulsa
18.5 – Jacksonville
18.2 – Louisville
17.9 – Murfreesboro
17.8 – Phoenix
17.5 – Oakland
17.1 – Oklahoma City
17.0 – Raleigh
Total Police Department Employee Count:
50,366 – New York
12,665 – Los Angeles
7,229 – Philadelphia
6,577 – Houston
4,825 – Las Vegas
4,487 – Washington, D.C.
4,040 – Dallas
3,698 – Phoenix
2,973 – Jacksonville
2,960 – Baltimore
2,711 – San Francisco
2,689 – Boston
2,518 – Milwaukee
2,436 – Detroit
2,389 – Memphis
2,329 – Charlotte
2,218 – Atlanta
1,824 – Kansas City
1,776 – Indianapolis
1,757 – St. Louis
1,742 – Nashville
1,735 – Denver
1,459 – Miami
1,362 – Oklahoma City
1,230 – St. Louis
1,222 – Tampa
1,102 – Birmingham
1,014 – Minneapolis
948 – Pittsburgh
903 – Orlando
539 – Chattanooga
491 – Knoxville
Source: Governing magazine’s calculations of 2015 FBI UCR Data.
***
Join us at the Smart City Memphis Facebook page for daily articles, reports, and commentaries relevant to Memphis and the conversations that begin here.
