If you wanted to reduce crime in Oklahoma, how would you do it?
For decades, the standard answer has been: hire more police. We’ve been taught that public safety is a matter of “boots on the ground.” And while a dedicated police force is essential, it is also incredibly expensive.
The Scioto Analysis report on Public Safety offers an alternative. It suggests that raising the minimum wage to $15 acts as a “force multiplier” that achieves the same results as a massive expansion of the police force but without the taxpayer price tag.
Economists use a concept called “police-crime elasticity” to figure out how many officers you need to prevent a certain amount of crime. Research generally shows that when you increase the number of police, crime rates go down.
According to the report, to achieve the same reduction in crime that a $15 minimum wage would provide, Oklahoma would need to increase the size of its police force by about 11%.
971 Additional Officers
Currently, there are just over 9,200 sworn officers across Oklahoma. To match the crime-fighting impact of a $15 minimum wage, the state would need to hire an additional 971 officers.
Think about the logistical mountain that represents. At an average salary of $60,000, that’s $58 million per year just for base pay. That $58 million doesn’t include health benefits, pensions, patrol cars, equipment, or training.
Like many states, Oklahoma is already struggling to fill existing police vacancies. Finding nearly a thousand new, qualified officers is a daunting, if not impossible, task in the current labor market.
“Policed” vs. “Prosperous”
There is a fundamental difference between reducing crime through enforcement and reducing it through opportunity.
Police are a reactive tool designed to respond to, investigate, and deter crime through the threat of arrest. A higher minimum wage is a preventative tool. It addresses the root economic desperation that causes the crime to happen in the first place.
By raising the wage, the state reduces the “demand” for crime. When fewer people feel the need to engage in illegal activity to survive, the existing police force can focus their time and resources on the most serious, violent offenses rather than being stretched thin by crimes of poverty.
The Fiscal Conservative Case
From a budget perspective, the comparison is clear. Hiring 971 officers is a direct, permanent hit to the taxpayer-funded state and local budgets. On the other hand, a minimum wage increase is a policy change that shifts the “cost” of safety away from the government and into the private labor market, where it is offset by increased worker productivity and reduced social spending.
The Bottom Line
We don’t have to choose between having a police force and having a fair wage—we need both. But we should recognize that wages are a public safety tool.
Raising the minimum wage to $15 is the equivalent of putting 971 extra “invisible officers” on the street. It makes our communities safer not by adding more handcuffs, but by adding more hope and more opportunity.
Read the entire report here.
