The overdose rate increases even more in areas with both high rates of police spending and higher reliance on fine and forfeiture revenue.
Rising overdose-related deaths have prompted many to explore what factors make some communities more severely affected than others. This report presents findings from a first-of-its-kind national study examining how county-level fiscal policies and expenditures influence overdose deaths alongside social determinants of health (SDOH). The researchers analyzed and compared fines and forfeitures per capita, health spending per capita, and police spending per capita from 2,110 counties. The results demonstrated a significant link between a county’s fiscal environment and policing activities to overdose deaths. Specifically, they found counties that allocate more funds to policing and rely on extractive revenue-generation strategies face the highest risk of overdose deaths. The researchers recommend further research using causal inference models to examine extractive revenue-generating strategies and the impact of policy changes on overdose deaths at the state and local levels.
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Key Findings:
- For every one-unit increase in police spending, there was a corresponding increase in overdose deaths per 100,000 population.
- A link between county health spending and opioid mortality rates was not found.