A Police Department Is Trying to Allocate Crime Control Resources

question 106

Multiple Choice

A police department is trying to allocate crime control resources between murder and burglary.Detectives cost $40,000 each.Suppose that she marginal benefit of one less murder is $20,000 while the marginal benefit of one less burglary is $1,000.The number of murders and burglaries that occur at different levels of detective allocation is shown in the table. $\begin{array}{ccc}\begin{array}{c}\text { Number of } \\ \underline {\text { Detectives Assigned }}\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Number of } \\ \underline {\text { Murders }}\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}\text { Number of } \\ \underline {\text { Burglaries }}\end{array} \\0 & 20 & 100 \\1 & 16 & 60 \\2 & 13 & 30 \\3 & 11 & 10 \\4 & 10 & 0\end{array}$
Suppose the police department has $160,000 to spend on detectives.Because of political pressures all four are assigned to murder prevention and none to burglary prevention.The marginal benefit gained by assigning the fourth detective to murder prevention is _____,and the marginal benefit that would have been gained had the detective been assigned to burglary prevention is ____.

• A) $20,000;$40,000
• B) $40,000;$40,000
• C) $20,000;$20,000
• D) $40,000;$20,000

---

Definitions:

Parathyroid Glands

Small endocrine glands in the neck that produce parathyroid hormone (PTH), which regulates calcium levels in the blood.

Fight-or-Flight Response

A biological response triggered by the perception of danger, hostility, or a threat to one's existence.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Changes that develop during puberty; in males, include growth of facial and body hair, muscle development, and the increase in vocal cord length and thickness that causes the voice to deepen; in females, include development of the breasts, broadening of the pelvis, and the development and distribution of muscle and fat responsible for the female body shape.

Testes

The male reproductive glands that produce sperm and hormones, such as testosterone.