The concept of The Ferguson Effect has been a hotly debated subject in our country for several years now. The idea has been supported by many in law enforcement, such as former FBI director James Comey, and often dismissed by activist groups and politicians, such as Black Lives Matter and former President Obama (MacDonald, The War, 6-9). The Ferguson Effect (FE) is the idea that police departments around the country are backing away from active policing due to a profound increase in scrutiny that followed the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. There are growing numbers of people who feel that because of The FE there has been an increase in crime because the criminal element feels empowered. The practical application of …show more content…
Over the last two years, there has been a dramatic increase in violent crimes and homicides in major US cities, especially those where activist groups have come through holding rallies and inciting large protests. According to Amber Randall, a civil rights reporter for The Daily Caller, in the year following the Michael Brown shooting violent crimes increased by almost 65% in Ferguson Missouri (Randall). On October 1, 2017, The Daily Caller reported an article by Will Racke, titled The FBI’s Latest Report Suggests The ‘Ferguson Effect’ Is Real. Racke looked at the FBI’s annual report on crime chronicling statistics on murder and violent crimes for the year of 2016. According to the FBI report and Racke, there has been an alarming increase in major cities around the country over the last several years. Recorded …show more content…
I have dubbed this double phenomenon of de-policing and the resulting crime increase the “Ferguson effect,” picking up on a phrase first used by St. Louis’s police chief (MacDonald, Washington
Smith’s poem, “Unrest in Baton Rouge,” she states “Our bodies run with ink dark blood” (1), a reference to the days of slavery when traders believed that the darker the blood of an African man, the stronger, more dependable, and more valuable he would be. The next line demonstrates an even darker theme: “Blood pools in the pavement seams” (Smith, 2). The line laments that, as perpetuated by the mainstream media, African Americans are being gunned down in the streets of this country indiscriminately by law enforcement officers. In terms of absolute numbers, more white Americans are killed by police that AfricanAmericans (560 versus 318, respectively, in 2015 and 2016). Admittedly, based on relative population, AfricanAmericans are more likely to be killed by police officers than whites; however, in 2015 and 2016 there were a total of just 1388 and 1034 police involved shootings, representing just 0.0003 0.0004% of the U.S. population (Palma). While any death is lamentable, it is clear from these numbers that the police are not out looking to kill black men. While she
Rough draft segregation was a terribly unfair law that lasted about a hundred years in the United States. A group of high school students who struggled for better educational conditions were a big factor in ending segregation in the United States. Even though going on strike for better conditions may have negative impacts, African Americans were not treated equally in education because of segregation and the Jim Crow laws were so unfair and the black schools were in terrible condition compared to the whites’. In 1896 the Plessy v. Ferguson case made the segregation of blacks and whites legal; and the Supreme Court made the Jim Crow laws legal, saying that blacks are “separate but equal.” African Americans knew that was unfair and could especially see it in the schools.
In the fifth chapter of Walker’s book, he discusses the idea that we can reduce crime rates if we “unleash” cops and give them more capabilities, deter future crimes through more severe punishments, and that we should lock up more criminals and for longer terms. The author of 14 books on issues of crime, policing, and policies surrounding those issues, Walker holds the title of Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he taught for many years, even though he has not taught there since 2005. Before this, in 1973, he acquired a Ph.D. in American History at Ohio State University which is his highest degree to date. Walker has written and done research on numerous subjects involving the criminal justice system and because of this has keen insight into the world of law and policing.
Racial discrimination in our society has reached its tipping point such that rioting has become a last resort. After the deaths of two young African American males that occurred due to police brutality , the public has been in an uproar, fighting and hoping for change;however the means of fighting aren’t seen as appropriate. The majority of the population argues that the rioting that had occurred in Baltimore and Ferguson, where the shootings happened, were unjustified. The media depicted the rioting to be criminalized and unrelated to the cause. It was portrayed that African Americans took the deaths of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray as an excuse to loot and raid.On contrary to popular belief, the rioting in Baltimore and Ferguson were adequate actions that took place. It wasn’t until the rioting occurred that investigations of these cases followed. Because of the investigation it was found that the problems at hand were more than racial issues highlighted by police brutality, but racial abuse in the system of the cities.
When New York City had a new leftist mayor, many foreshadowed there would be a significant rise in crime spanning over a few years. The new mayor, Bill de Blasio, was to blame. De Blasio wanted to reform city measure, but he went about it in a different way. De Blasio talked and listen more to ex-cons on this matter, putting their options and advice to the forefront of his mind. Many of them rallied for reducing police stratagems to reduce New York City’s crime rates. It was believed that de Blasio agreed with this idea because of his thoughts on some of the tactics New York City’s police officers used. De Blasio fought against “Stop and Frisk”, because of how they unjustly discriminated against young, African American males and put their safety at risk.
It is no news when we hear about recent riots in the city of Baltimore, violence in the streets of New York City, and drug wars in Los Angeles. For many citizens, urban violence does not come as a surprise since many impoverished cities in the United States lack job opportunities, police protection, and in which many citizens feel unwanted. Cities such as Baltimore is the home to 63% of African Americans who live in poor conditioned homes, and are surrounded by drugs and violence within their communities. Many of us do not acknowledge these obstacles that African Americans, Latinos, or unprivileged whites encounter in urban communities where they feel hated, hopeless, and judged. Social unrest in the United Sates has been the result of many
On August 9th, 2014, 18 year old Michael Brown was shot by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking protests, riots, and widespread debate on police use of force. Numerous questions arose as to whether Michael Brown was armed or unarmed, if he had his hands in the air or was attacking Officer Wilson, and whether Officer Wilson was justified in firing his weapon that resulted in the death of Michael Brown (Itkowitz). Twenty-two years have passed since the riots in Los Angeles after the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King were acquitted on charges of excessive force, and it left many to wonder, including myself, as to why this happened again. Why were there so many questions surrounding the incident and how this could
In 2014, the death of Eric Garner in New York City raised controversial conversations and highlighted the issues of race, crime, and policing in neighborhoods that tend to be poor and racially isolated. Garner, an unarmed black man, was killed after being tackled and held in a “chokehold.” According to the AP Polls in December 2014, “Police killings of unarmed blacks were the most important news stories of 2014.” The problem is that young black men are targeted by police officers in which they have responded with the misuse of force and policy brutality. It is evident that this issue affects many people nationwide. The civilians do not trust the police department and the justice system because they hold the perceptions that police officers are immune from prosecution despite their actions. In particular, black individuals, specifically black males, do not feel safe in the presence of police officers because they are not held accountable for their mistakes.
In America, police brutality affects and victimizes people of color mentally and socially. Social injustice has become a major issue, which involved the principle of white supremacy vs minorities. The current police brutality that has been occurring is culturally disconnecting ethnicities from one another. According to Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell, “…the cultural disconnect is very real; you have the weight of generations of abuse on African Americans,” (Flatow, 2016). For example, over the past four years, there have been countless acts of police brutality. The three key deaths of Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and Alton Sterling have become the face of police brutality in the year 2016. People knew that it was unequal treatment of black people by police in the United States and they made it known by creating #BlackLivesMatter.
According to Apel (2014), on August 9,2014, Michael Brown,18, an unarmed black man of Ferguson, Missouri was shot and killed by a white police officer named Darren Wilson. Considering the evidence, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson. This sparked a nationwide protest. People came from near and far to protest the judge’s decision. It was no peaceful protest, it might have appeared to start out as a nonviolent protest, but like many protests, it quickly turned violent. People wanted justice and the people felt as though the system once again had felled them. Barnett (2014), a reporter says that after the shooting groups such as the “New Black Panthers,” demanded a rebellion against the officer who shot Brown. For a while the head of police was not going to reveal the name of the officer who killed the Brown, but after a series of violent protest, the head of police released the officer’s name. If violence was not used during the protest it would not have received worldwide attention. Furthermore, the public would not have known the officer who killed Brown. Due to the amount of attention the Michael Brown’s case received and because of the amount of passion the protestors had and how they were willing to die to get their point across sparked attention. Requiring many people who were in the political spotlight to
Racial profiling over the past twenty years have been elevated due to the increasing frequency of people of color beginning to form allegations that the police were in fact racial profiling. Throughout communities everywhere, people are asking the question, how can their community find a way to address this controversy to make police work more efficient and effective when it comes to crime?... ... middle of paper ... ...
King, Ryan D., Steven. F Messner, Robert D. Baller. 2009. “Contemporary Hate Crimes, Law Enforcement and the Legacy of Racial Violence.” American Sociological Association. 74: 291-315.
A seven-year study conducted by USA Today analyzing the FBI’s justifiable homicide database revealed that 96 percent of all cases involve Black people dying at the hands of white police officers, who are rarely indicted, let alone brought to trial.” (Kaplan 2014). “Some have called the Black Lives Matter a hate group whose rhetoric is partially responsible for the recent shooting of a sheriff in Texas”. Police cars were destroyed, and several police were injured.
A large problem in America has always been racial issues and still continues to be prevalent in our society today. The United States likes to boast its reputation as a “melting-pot” as many cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds are mixed together, yet the country still continues to isolate individuals based on race. In the constitution, it says that everyone is supposed to have equal rights and liberties, yet after over 200 years, many minorities still struggle to obtain the same respect and equality that their white counterparts have always have. Laws should be created to enforce equality and justice for racial groups.
Protests around the world have taken place to fight for justice in the black community. The immense number of deaths of unarmed black men and women is a clear sign that they are more likely to be killed by police than white people. Physical violence and excessive use of force by the U.S. police towards African Americans are seen in the news regularly. “People, including police officers, hold strong implicit associations between blacks, and probably Hispanics, and weapons, crime and aggression," said Jack Glaser. Police brutality statistics show that African Americans are three times more likely to be murdered by cops than any other race. Racial disparity in the United States is a coherent reason for the increase of criminal injustice in the United