This study provides a first empirical test of the relationship between indicators of police performance and homicide rates in cross-national perspective. Results show that police performance indices are strongly associated with lower homicide rates, controlling for the levels of socioeconomic development, economic problems (poverty–inequality), democracy, and incarceration. They also show that police performance fully mediates the relationship between socioeconomic development and homicide. Thus, richer and more developed nations may have lower homicide rates because they have better police. Overall, results suggest that good policing matters for cross-national criminology, in addition to social and economic factors. Finally, the new police performance index is provided for future research.
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