Research

The Great Recession and its aftermath had a huge impact on local policing, with agencies furloughing, laying off, or defunding positions. Given the fact that public-safety costs consume significant portions of the general-fund budget for local governments, agencies have sought ways to consolidate, merge, or share police services. Read More  

Although consolidating and sharing public safety services has received much attention in recent years, such efforts are not new. Moreover, despite the many communities that have in one way or another consolidated or shared these services, the process of doing so has not become any easier. Read More

In recent years, a growing number of communities have consolidated their police and fire agencies into a single “public-service” agency. Consolidation has appealed to communities seeking to achieve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, but resistance has arisen from organized labor and firefighters. Read More

Michigan has pioneered public safety consolidation and its public-safety departments have often served as models for other communities moving toward consolidation. Understanding how such efforts have fared in Michigan can yield insights on how they might fare elsewhere. To that end, this research surveyed public-safety personnel at three Michigan departments for their perspectives on consolidation.  

Police agencies in recent years have had increasing difficulty maintaining proper staffing levels and delivering certain functions, particularly those related to community policing and problem-solving activities. Read More