Small police agencies are being asked to do more with less — and in many cases, to do it with fewer resources and growing complexity.
That challenge isn’t new. In a 2011 article in IACP’s Police Chief magazine, my predecessor, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Julian Fantino, wrote: “…the current economic reality is driving policy makers to revisit and rethink the affordability of police services and how such services can be delivered more efficiently and economically…” [1]
The debate over policing costs and affordability has not abated in the 15 years since those remarks. More recently, emerging operational challenges — including transnational crime, protest movements, terrorism and cyber threats — are forcing police departments to examine more collaborative, cohesive and intelligence-led options.
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The fragmentation problem
Canada has roughly one-tenth the population of the United States and a similar geographic footprint. Yet Canada has around 160 police departments, while the U.S. has nearly 18,000. The majority of America’s police departments have fewer than 25 employees, and according to 2022 statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, almost half employ fewer than 10 full-time officers. Many of these departments still rely heavily on paper files rather than digital records management systems.
The fragmentation resulting from this disjointed model is not conducive to meeting today’s broader policing demands, which are often technology-based and intelligence-driven.
A system built without scale
At the provincial and state level, the disparity is just as striking. Ontario has just over 50 police services. It spans more than 500,000 square miles and serves a population of approximately 15 million. Prior to the formation of regional governments and the amalgamation of smaller departments into those regions or into the OPP, Ontario has never had more than 200 police departments.
Comparatively, Pennsylvania is approximately 45,000 square miles in size with about 13 million people, but has roughly 1,200 police departments.
Each of those agencies requires buildings, vehicles, IT infrastructure, radio networks and equipment, recruiters, trainers, weapons, supplies and more. They have very little economy of scale in purchasing, recruiting, training or fleet costs. Their ability to effectively gather and share intelligence, respond to major crime or conduct investigations in a digital world — including complex fraud or child exploitation — is extremely limited.
With policing costs continuing to be the largest budget item in most municipalities in North America, is there not a more cost-effective and operationally sound option?
The case for consolidation
A 2021 Washington Post article stated: “You want to change American policing, figure out how to get to the departments of 50 officers or less,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum. “How do you reach them? How do you get to them? That’s what the American people keep wondering.” [2]
Achieving such a goal would be challenging on many levels. Mayors and councils do not want to lose control of their smaller police departments or chiefs. I recognize that this is a difficult — and often emotional — prospect. Many of us were raised in communities where we knew every officer in “our police department,” including the chief.
However, in a changing world, emotion should not be the guiding factor in these decisions.
In Canada, each province sets policing standards across a range of operational and training areas. These legislated requirements do not vary significantly and address critical issues such as major case management, criminal intelligence, public order and use-of-force reporting. They are intended to ensure that all communities receive a consistent level of professional policing.
Conversely, the U.S. policing model remains highly decentralized. As Wexler noted, “Our policing is completely fragmented, decentralized, with no national standards.” [3] In my view, that makes consistent service delivery across the country more a matter of luck than management.
How is that fair to the communities being served?
Within reason, all municipalities should expect a similar level of effective policing — delivered by officers who are similarly trained, equipped and operating under comparable standards.
Some community leaders and police chiefs argue that consolidation undermines community policing and reduces officer connection with the public. In reality, many of those officers would continue policing the same communities — while benefiting from stronger infrastructure, better equipment and more consistent training. That support should enhance, not diminish, community relationships.
Pennsylvania continues to move toward regional policing models. One recent article noted: “…most municipalities that regionalize report lower costs, more combined officers, higher salaries, better officer retention rates, increased morale, more patrol coverage, faster response times, fewer part-time officers, less overtime, improved administration, more patrol supervision and training, and less duplication of services…” [4]
Leadership beyond tradition
Bigger is not always better, but it is increasingly difficult for many small agencies to keep pace with the technological and operational demands of modern policing. Without change, they risk becoming isolated from the advantages available to larger, more integrated organizations.
The efficiencies gained through consolidation can benefit officers, departments and the communities they serve — while also reducing costs for taxpayers.
True leadership requires making decisions that serve the broader public interest.
In my view, mayors and councils must be willing to examine alternative service delivery models and choose approaches that are both effective and sustainable.
Sweeping change is rarely easy, but it is often necessary to do what is right.
*Contains excerpts from my article: The Death Knell for Small-Town Police Departments, printed in The Walrus, March 12, 2015, thewalrus.ca
References
1. Fantino J. (2021). Consolidation, Amalgamation, Regionalization: When Harsh Economic Realities Impact Police Agencies. The Police Chief, IACP.
2. Berman M. (May 8, 2021). Most police departments in America are small. That’s partly why changing policing is difficult, experts say. Washington Post.
3. Ibid.
4. Cann H. (March 31, 2025). As PA police departments regionalize, questions arise about gains, losses. Cityandstatepa.com.
A Virginia town’s overnight loss of its entire police force is a stark example of the strain facing small agencies