So here's a question, discussed with Jesse Naidoo the other evening. The existence of a police force probably deters some amount of violence. On the other hand, the police also *commit* a certain amount of violence, legal and illegal. Moreover, if the police do their jobs, they send people to prison and violence is especially rife in prisons (this is discussed in detail here). So, overall, does the existence of the police overall increase or decrease the rate of violence in a given society? Would the effect differ in the short-term versus the long-term (i.e. once social norms have adjusted to the non-existence of police)? Any thoughts on how we might try to construct an estimate of this?
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