CityBeat: Would more police officers reduce crime? UC criminologist suggests not

At least 20 people were shot, five fatally, in several separate incidents in Cincinnati Aug. 15-16. In examining one of the city’s most violent weekends on record, CityBeat magazine turned to the research of University of Cincinnati criminologist John Eck.

Eck, a professor criminal justice in UC’s School of Criminal Justice, conducted research in 2017 that looked at both crime data and police department size data from 1968 to 2013 and found no correlation between the two. He says the key is in changing strategy, not size

“We published a study synthesizing all of the studies of police force size and crime and could not find a scintilla of evidence that expanding a police force would reduce crime,” Eck previously told CityBeat.

Read the full story here.

 

Featured image at top: Handcuffs stock image, provided by Law.com

Related Stories

1

Hoffman Scholars begin a year of exploration and engagement

September 25, 2025

The second year of the Hoffman Honors Scholars program (HHS) is in full swing. This fall, University of Cincinnati faculty and staff welcomed 22 new students as the second cohort of the Hoffman Honors Scholars program (HHS). Students from UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, College-Conservatory of Music and the Carl H. Lindner College of Business are provided tuition, room and board and a plethora of community tools and skill-training.

3

What is a hackathon?

September 24, 2025

Hackathons are time-bound competitions where teams work in a fast-paced environment to build technical solutions to major challenges. They’re often used by companies and organizations to drive innovation and identify potential talent.

Debug Query for this