Does Police Immunity from Wrongful Arrests Really Deter Crime?
"In the wake of ongoing attention to police misconduct, a new economic study considers the cost of granting full immunity to officers for wrongful arrests and detention of innocent people, instead proposing a model of 'qualified immunity.'

According to the paper forthcoming in Economic Inquiry, many police jurisdictions grant officers immunity from penalties for these errors under the belief that harsh discipline would cause them to become “timid” during encounters with suspects, and potentially weaken law enforcement efforts. However, economists have long argued that wrongful arrests also lower the 'opportunity cost” of committing a crime.'"

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