Poll: ‘Ferguson effect’ real

[Wendell]

The so-called “Ferguson effect” — officers backing off of policing out of fear that their actions will be questioned after the fact — has been talked about but never really quantified. A new study suggests the effect is a reality, with three-quarters of officers surveyed saying they are hesitant to use force, even when appropriate, and are less willing to stop and question suspicious people. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center questioned at least 8,000 officers from departments with at least 100 officers between May 19 and Aug. 14 last year — most of it ahead of the fatal shootings of five officers in Dallas and three officers in Baton Rouge. What it found was a significant fear among police about their safety and about carrying out some of the everyday acts of policing.
http://www.timesargus.com/articles/p...n-effect-real/

[blues]

This has been coming since I first took the oath a few decades ago. I remember one time when the then current SAC and Deputy SAC asked me and my partner why we hadn't dragged a particular target of investigation into the holding cell bloodied up when he'd provided an excuse to do so.

I turned to them and said, "And you'd have stood by us if we had...?" Crickets.

It's clearly worse now than I can remember it being during my years but it's a road we've been traveling down for a long time now. How we're going to turn it around is something I'm hoping to find out.

[sierra 223]

With out a doubt its real, this is what the liberals wanted and now the consequences that we will all have to deal with.

[AMC]

De-policing is a feature, not a bug, of a certain political agenda. It accomplishes several goals....Firstly, it allows them to pander to certain groups as "saviors", and ensure political loyalty. Secondly, it will increase crime and disorder, which is also to the benefit of those backing "government" as the solution to "social problems" (which they themselves created). This isn't tinfoil hat stuff......These freaking people have been writing and talking about doing this for decades!

[AMC]

In California, where I work, the "Ferguson Effect" is also exacerbated by certain legislative decisions made by the people and their elected official. First the Public Safety Realignment Act and what it did to penalties and sentencing, Prop 36 and it's effect on drug prosecutions, and now Prop 47 effectively ending street level narcotics enforcement (as well as what it did to property crimes!), The cops are really wondering what the hell the citizens expect them to do. In my city, we also have a decision by the courts and the DA that infraction violations will not become warrants....They go to civil collections. Which essentially legalized "quality of life" violations for the indigent/homeless population. Now add an extremely hostile Police Commission, which just enacted a new UOF policy that remove the Carotid Restraint from our toolbox, bans shooting at vehicles EVEN IF the vehicle is being used as a weapon to mow down pedestrians, and adds the terms "Minimum Force" and "proportional Force" to our policy......Add in Body Cams, and our E-Stop demographic data collection program.....Stir well. Man.....We haven't begun to see how DE-policed a city can be.

[voodoo_man]

As I've stated repeatedly, my PD has largely been unaffected by the "ferguson effect" in that white police officer's are just as proactive as ever and shoot just as many racially diverse persons we they did for the last twenty years - even less so (about 40% less than 2007). We still show up to calls, do proactive police work and make sure we cross our t's and dot our j's.

Our slowdown is not due to the ferguson effect it is due to the manpower/staffing issues we currently have. It just is not safe for us to be proactive when it would take the closest officer a good three to five minutes to respond as backup, especially coming from a system where everyone was two person and everyone had backup at all times - meaning you'd do a carstop with your partner and another squad would show up just in case it got dicey.

[11B10]

This has been coming since I first took the oath a few decades ago. I remember one time when the then current SAC and Deputy SAC asked me and my partner why we hadn't dragged a particular target of investigation into the holding cell bloodied up when he'd provided an excuse to do so.

I turned to them and said, "And you'd have stood by us if we had...?" Crickets.

It's clearly worse now than I can remember it being during my years but it's a road we've been traveling down for a long time now. How we're going to turn it around is something I'm hoping to find out.

blues, without going into detail, my introduction to what you're calling "crickets" (love that), was a long time ago, but I remember it so well because, #1. I couldn't believe it was happening! and, #2. See #1!!!! The situation I'm referring to was so obvious to all who witnessed it (and there were many witnesses), that no one thought there would be any need for "witnesses." Now that I look back, it was good training (think: "indoctrination/brainwashing" here) for the utter nonsense going on today.

[Mr. Goodtimes]

I feel like the Ferguson Effect is likely largely based on how well an officer feels their department will stand behind them when the usual suspects start crying. Polk county shoots people all the time... but... Grady Judd... so... yea.

It seems that the common theme is that if you have a weak administration you're screwed, if you have a good administration that's willing to tell the radical racial bully's like Sharpton, Jackson, the media, etc to eff off, then you'll get to work until retirement.

EDIT: I think now that the new administration is in office we will begin to gradually see a change in the national tone, and week start heading a little ways back down the right path.




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[PearTree]

Polk county shoots people all the time... but... Grady Judd... so... yea.

Perception is not always the reality.

[arcticlightfighter]

My personal experience has been that my admin (new chief) is very concerned about scrutiny and the optics of use of force specifically with the black community....this translates into undo scrutiny of offcer use of force and the natural hesitance of officers to engage....I tell my officers to remember what's important...the skells on the street arent worth the very real consequence of luteral and legal peril...make syre the juice is worth the squeeze.

With the precedence being criminal charging, civil asset forfieture and loss of employment even when a shoot is justified..why bother.

15 years in and the environment is untenable

As Brother Pat said...the job you love will not love you back