A criminologist, who was one of the many to deny that The Ferguson Effect was in fact occurring across the country, has admitted that he has had “second thoughts.”
Since 2014, the number of homicides in 57 large cities has gone up 17%, specifically ten of these cities with large black populations saw the rate of homicides increase by 33%.
“These aren’t flukes or blips, this is a real increase,” said Richard Rosenfeld, criminologist at University of Missouri-St. Louis. “The only explanation that gets the timing right is a version of the Ferguson effect.”
The Ferguson Effect is a theory that ever since police departments have received heighten levels of scrutiny from the public, they have been forced to patrol less aggressively. The areas that need the most attention are often the ones with violent riots, but they are being avoided by officers.
Rosenfield argues that this isn’t a national pandemic, instead the 2015 homicide increase was primarily in urban areas.
When the homicide rate peaked in 1991, criminologists linked this to the economic distress. Nearly half of the murders committed were by blacks. This influenced proactive policing, whereas police officers made it their mission to eliminate signs of disorder. New York’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani increase this effort and quickly other cities followed suit. As a result, homicides in New York went from 2,445 in 1990 to 328 in 2014.
However, the Ferguson Effect has caused the opposite result of de-policing. Due to the fear of the anti-cop media stories, police officers have scaled down patrols.
Even though criminologists are accepting that the Ferguson Effect is a real issue, Obama refuses to acknowledge this problem. He has said “there’s no data to support” this theory.
But Obama’s appointee, FBI Director James Comey disagrees with the president. He has found that there have been “marginal pullbacks by lots and lots of police officers.”
Obama has amplified the recent race issues and has given the media fuel to bash police officers. His race-baiting has divided the nation instead of uniting it.
Ultimately, the de-policing in these rural areas are going to hurt the African American community the most. So Obama’s attempt to stand up for these communities has had devastating consequences.