This lines up with evidence based policing research that visible police presence can deter crime; so much of the problem comes when the cops decide they need to shake people down and look for stuff rather than stay put and be guardians of public safety and order. https://twitter.com/orinkerr/status/1291453017934290944

Part of the problem is that when crime goes up, politicians want something to show the public that they are “doing something.” That trickles down to cops producing evidence of police action—so they go hunting for guns and making arrests.

But there isn’t a strong correlation between arrests/gun recovery and crime reduction; so cops are responding to political incentives that they “do something” but every arrest takes an officer off the street for paperwork/processing, providing more opportunities for crime.

So it makes sense that people want to see more officers in their neighborhood because when they see cops they probably experience less crime.

But the brass will ask its officers to produce numbers that aren’t actually tied to public safety.

Lather, rinse, repeat.