Chicago Policing Force Size and Budgets

November 26, 2024

I’ve compiled data on historic budgets and force sizes for the Chicago police department, as well as data on the population of Chicago and index crimes.

Force size

The number of sworn-officers per year, i.e. the number of CPD employees who are licensed law enforcement officers with the power to arrest.

Force size

7.0k7.5k8.0k8.5k9.0k9.5k10.0k10.5k11.0k11.5k12.0k12.5k13.0k13.5k↑ sworn officers197019801990200020102020year →

Sworn officers per capita

0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.5↑ sworn officer per 1,000 Chicagoans197019801990200020102020year →

Index Crimes by Sworn officers

Index crimes are a standardized classification of crimes that police departments voluntarily report to the FBI. We use the total number of index crimes here, except rape which was redefined as a category during this period.

Index Crimes by Sworn Officer (not including rape)

02468101214161820222426↑ index crimes per sworn officer197019801990200020102020year →

Appropriated Budget

This shows the appropriated budget for the Chicago police department. Another interesting measure would be actual spending.

Chicago Police Department Appropriations, 2023 dollars

$0$200,000,000$400,000,000$600,000,000$800,000,000$1,000,000,000$1,200,000,000$1,400,000,000$1,600,000,000$1,800,000,000↑ Appropriations197019801990200020102020year →

Appropriated Budget for Chicago Police per Capita, 2023 Dollars

$0$50$100$150$200$250$300$350$400$450$500$550$600$650↑ Appropriations per capita197019801990200020102020year →

Chicago Police Department Appropriations per reported index crime, 2023 dollars

$0$2,000$4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000$14,000$16,000$18,000$20,000↑ Appropriations per index crime197019801990200020102020year →

Total Index Crimes

050,000100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000↑ index crime - rape197019801990200020102020year →

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