University of California, Irvine, School of Social Ecology Irvine at 50: A Tale of Continuity and Change • November 1 2021
Figure 2.9 How has the size of Irvine’s police force changed over this time period? We address this question in Figure 2.9. As shown, the number of sworn police officers (blue line) has shown a steady increase from 1975 to 2019. From 45 sworn officers in 1976, the force has consistently grown and has over 220 in the most recent years. In addition to sworn officers who routinely interact with the public, there are also (non-sworn) civilian employees who serve in various capacities including as civilian public safety assistants, animal service officers, civilian traffic investigators, and other administrative positions. There has been growth in these positions as well (red line), although not as steep. Of course, these increases are to be expected as Irvine has grown in population size as well over this time period. Has the growth in officers matched that of the population? In fact, it has not, as the officers per capita (purple line) were about 1.3-1.4 officers per 1,000 population up until 1988, and since that time there has been a steady decline in police officers per capita. In recent years the number of officers per 1,000 population has fallen below 0.8. Importantly, this has not resulted in crime increases, as the previous Figures reveal.
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