3. High Point

We’re looking at law enforcement in the Power Ranking this week using the most simple of tools: long division. By dividing a city’s population by the number of sworn and non-sworn members of that city’s police force, we come up with an index not unlike the student-teacher ratio used to evaluate schools. In this formula, High Point ranks last among the Triad’s cities, with 267 police employees and 107,741 residents, giving it an index of 403.5 — the amount of citizens for each cop.

2. Greensboro

With the biggest population in the Triad at 279,639, the Gate City also has the largest police department, with 785 sworn and non-sworn employees. But the numbers don’t quite add up as favorable. Greensboro’s index of 356.2 is enough to beat High Point, but not enough for First Place.

1. Winston-Salem

While Winston-Salem is truly the second city in terms of population — 236,441 and rising — and the size of the police department at 732 sworn and non-sworn employees, it’s cop-to-citizen ratio is the best in the Triad at an even 323.

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