I reviewed your recent article “Combining Cop Shops Can Save Big Bucks.”
I’m attaching a copy of a short study I completed for Delhi Charter Township (Ingham County) a couple of years ago on the costs/benefits of contracting with the county sheriff versus having their own department. Studies dating back to the mid-1970s have demonstrated the economic and policing benefits of contracting versus self-production so I’m not surprised by the Macomb case that I followed closely since their early discussions. Having been a proponent of contracting for four decades I’m pleased to see “The Center” focus on the topic in your e-newsletters.
Best wishes.
Lynn R. Harvey
Professor Emeritus
State and Local Government
Michigan State University
EDITOR’S NOTE: Read Harvey’s Delhi Township study here. It concludes that taxpayers’ total costs of township government would have been 5 percent higher if the township had its own police department.
