Governments in America’s largest counties tend to spend more money per capita on law enforcement than smaller counties, according to data compiled by the US Census Bureau.
Following the killing of George Floyd in May, police defunding — the idea of cutting law enforcement budgets and reallocating the funds to services like social services and education — has become a national issue. The Census Bureau’s 2017 financial data of more than 88,000 local governments, from cities to counties to school districts, shows how communities prioritize law enforcement compared to other relevant areas such as public health, child and social services, and aid to the disadvantaged. Local government takes different forms across the country, including many counties having both county sheriff operations as well as city police departments.
