Require Transparency and Accountability in Colorado Police Funding
The Issue
Colorado communities depend on law-enforcement agencies for important public-safety responsibilities such as investigating crimes, responding to emergencies, maintaining public order, and protecting residents. These responsibilities require sufficient public resources. Because police funding involves taxpayer money, it is crucial for Colorado residents to understand how these resources are used and what outcomes they produce.
In November 2024, Colorado residents voted to approve Proposition 130, providing an additional $350 million in state funding for local law-enforcement agencies. The funding is intended to support areas including recruitment, peace officer training, education, and compensation. Colorado subsequently enacted legislation to implement the funding and establish requirements concerning its distribution and oversight (Colorado General Assembly, 2025).
Recent research offers mixed evidence concerning the direct relationship between police funding and crime outcomes. Bjerk (2022), for example, examined police funding and homicide-clearance rates in approximately 50 large U.S. cities and found no evidence that greater police funding increased homicide-clearance rates. This finding does not imply that police resources are unimportant. Instead, it demonstrates why policymakers should examine how resources are allocated and what measurable outcomes are achieved from those investments.
Research pertaining to police staffing also provides additional context. Kim et al. (2024) found that the relationship between police workforce characteristics and crime is complex. Similarly, Wilson and Grammich (2024) explain that police workforce planning involves organizational conditions, deployment, workload, and staffing levels. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of public investment cannot be evaluated simply by measuring the size of a police budget or counting officers, but should also be assessed through measurable outcomes and accountability.
Mazeika (2023) examined municipalities that changed their police funding arrangements and found cost savings without measurable changes in public safety in the municipalities studied. Although these findings cannot automatically be applied to every Colorado community, they illustrate the importance of evaluating actual outcomes rather than assuming that a particular funding level or arrangement will produce the same results everywhere.
There is also an ethical dimension to this issue. Braswell et al. (2023) emphasize ethical decision-making and responsibility within criminal justice. When public resources are allocated to law enforcement, communities have a legitimate interest in knowing whether those resources are being used responsibly and whether the intended public-safety objectives are being achieved.
I am therefore asking Colorado policymakers to support continued transparency and measurable evaluation of law-enforcement funding. This includes examining how funding is allocated and reporting relevant outcomes involving staffing and retention, training, community complaints, use of force, and other appropriate public-safety indicators.
The purpose of this request is not to assume that increased police funding is inherently harmful or beneficial. Instead, it is to encourage decisions based on reliable evidence. Colorado residents should have access to understandable information about what public law-enforcement funding is intended to accomplish and what evidence exists regarding the outcomes achieved.
As a student studying criminal justice and ethics, I believe this issue deserves careful attention because decisions involving public safety affect victims, law-enforcement professionals, communities, and taxpayers. Therefore, considering both public safety and the ethical stewardship of public resources contributes to responsible criminal justice policies.
Research provides an important starting point for this discussion. The evidence shows that organizational structure, police funding, accountability, and public-safety outcomes are interconnected but cannot be reduced to a single measure. Continued evaluation can help Colorado communities and policymakers understand whether existing investments are achieving their intended goals.
I urge Colorado communities and policymakers to recognize the importance of accountability and transparency in law-enforcement funding. By signing this petition, you are supporting greater public awareness of how police funding is allocated and what measurable outcomes it produces. I encourage Colorado lawmakers to support accessible public reporting that clearly explains how police funding is distributed and evaluates whether those investments achieve measurable public-safety outcomes. Together, we can encourage continued evaluation of Colorado’s law-enforcement investments and promote responsible use of public resources.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this research-based issue concerning police funding, transparency, accountability, and public safety in Colorado. I hope you will show your support by signing this petition.
Contact:
Colorado General Assembly
Colorado House of Representatives
State Capitol Building
200 E. Colfax Avenue, Room 307
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303-866-2904
Email: House.ChiefClerk@coleg.gov
References:
Bjerk, D. (2022). Does greater police funding help catch more murderers? Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 19(3), 528–559. https://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12325
Braswell, M. C., McCarthy, B. R., & McCarthy, B. J. (2023). Justice, crime, and ethics (11th ed.). Anderson Publishing.
Colorado General Assembly. (2025). SB25-310: Proposition 130 implementation. Colorado General Assembly.
Kim, E., Bowers, K., Birks, D., & Johnson, S. D. (2024). Size isn’t everything: Understanding the relationship between police workforce and crime problems. Journal of Criminal Justice, 95, 102291.
Mazeika, D. (2023). Defunding the police through shared service agreements: The impact on cost savings, staffing, and public safety using a bias-corrected synthetic control analysis. Criminology & Public Policy, 22(3), 561–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12624
Wilson, J. M., & Grammich, C. A. (2024). Reframing the police staffing challenge: A systems approach to workforce planning and managing workload demand. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 18, paae005. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paae005
54
The Issue
Colorado communities depend on law-enforcement agencies for important public-safety responsibilities such as investigating crimes, responding to emergencies, maintaining public order, and protecting residents. These responsibilities require sufficient public resources. Because police funding involves taxpayer money, it is crucial for Colorado residents to understand how these resources are used and what outcomes they produce.
In November 2024, Colorado residents voted to approve Proposition 130, providing an additional $350 million in state funding for local law-enforcement agencies. The funding is intended to support areas including recruitment, peace officer training, education, and compensation. Colorado subsequently enacted legislation to implement the funding and establish requirements concerning its distribution and oversight (Colorado General Assembly, 2025).
Recent research offers mixed evidence concerning the direct relationship between police funding and crime outcomes. Bjerk (2022), for example, examined police funding and homicide-clearance rates in approximately 50 large U.S. cities and found no evidence that greater police funding increased homicide-clearance rates. This finding does not imply that police resources are unimportant. Instead, it demonstrates why policymakers should examine how resources are allocated and what measurable outcomes are achieved from those investments.
Research pertaining to police staffing also provides additional context. Kim et al. (2024) found that the relationship between police workforce characteristics and crime is complex. Similarly, Wilson and Grammich (2024) explain that police workforce planning involves organizational conditions, deployment, workload, and staffing levels. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of public investment cannot be evaluated simply by measuring the size of a police budget or counting officers, but should also be assessed through measurable outcomes and accountability.
Mazeika (2023) examined municipalities that changed their police funding arrangements and found cost savings without measurable changes in public safety in the municipalities studied. Although these findings cannot automatically be applied to every Colorado community, they illustrate the importance of evaluating actual outcomes rather than assuming that a particular funding level or arrangement will produce the same results everywhere.
There is also an ethical dimension to this issue. Braswell et al. (2023) emphasize ethical decision-making and responsibility within criminal justice. When public resources are allocated to law enforcement, communities have a legitimate interest in knowing whether those resources are being used responsibly and whether the intended public-safety objectives are being achieved.
I am therefore asking Colorado policymakers to support continued transparency and measurable evaluation of law-enforcement funding. This includes examining how funding is allocated and reporting relevant outcomes involving staffing and retention, training, community complaints, use of force, and other appropriate public-safety indicators.
The purpose of this request is not to assume that increased police funding is inherently harmful or beneficial. Instead, it is to encourage decisions based on reliable evidence. Colorado residents should have access to understandable information about what public law-enforcement funding is intended to accomplish and what evidence exists regarding the outcomes achieved.
As a student studying criminal justice and ethics, I believe this issue deserves careful attention because decisions involving public safety affect victims, law-enforcement professionals, communities, and taxpayers. Therefore, considering both public safety and the ethical stewardship of public resources contributes to responsible criminal justice policies.
Research provides an important starting point for this discussion. The evidence shows that organizational structure, police funding, accountability, and public-safety outcomes are interconnected but cannot be reduced to a single measure. Continued evaluation can help Colorado communities and policymakers understand whether existing investments are achieving their intended goals.
I urge Colorado communities and policymakers to recognize the importance of accountability and transparency in law-enforcement funding. By signing this petition, you are supporting greater public awareness of how police funding is allocated and what measurable outcomes it produces. I encourage Colorado lawmakers to support accessible public reporting that clearly explains how police funding is distributed and evaluates whether those investments achieve measurable public-safety outcomes. Together, we can encourage continued evaluation of Colorado’s law-enforcement investments and promote responsible use of public resources.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this research-based issue concerning police funding, transparency, accountability, and public safety in Colorado. I hope you will show your support by signing this petition.
Contact:
Colorado General Assembly
Colorado House of Representatives
State Capitol Building
200 E. Colfax Avenue, Room 307
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303-866-2904
Email: House.ChiefClerk@coleg.gov
References:
Bjerk, D. (2022). Does greater police funding help catch more murderers? Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 19(3), 528–559. https://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12325
Braswell, M. C., McCarthy, B. R., & McCarthy, B. J. (2023). Justice, crime, and ethics (11th ed.). Anderson Publishing.
Colorado General Assembly. (2025). SB25-310: Proposition 130 implementation. Colorado General Assembly.
Kim, E., Bowers, K., Birks, D., & Johnson, S. D. (2024). Size isn’t everything: Understanding the relationship between police workforce and crime problems. Journal of Criminal Justice, 95, 102291.
Mazeika, D. (2023). Defunding the police through shared service agreements: The impact on cost savings, staffing, and public safety using a bias-corrected synthetic control analysis. Criminology & Public Policy, 22(3), 561–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12624
Wilson, J. M., & Grammich, C. A. (2024). Reframing the police staffing challenge: A systems approach to workforce planning and managing workload demand. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 18, paae005. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paae005
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Petition created on October 11, 2026