Criminal Justice Prof.: 'Ferguson Effect' is a Hypothesis, Not a Proven Fact
September 13, 2016
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Speaking on WAMU's The Diane Rehm Show, University of Baltimore Professor of Criminal Justice Jeffrey Ian Ross questions some aspects of the so-called "Ferguson effect"—the idea that some police officers are holding back in their duties out of concern that they will be criticized or worse for their tactics. Some experts assert that there is a link between this reticence and an uptick in violent crime in some American cities.
"I think it's a great hypothesis. I'm not certain that it holds, unless you can get data that looks specifically at—either observational data or survey data from police officers leading to—you know, that support the hypothesis," Ross says. "The hypothesis, as I see it, is that police have somehow altered the way in which they police, and that has somehow sent a message to individuals who might otherwise engage in homicides that they have a free rein. I don't think that it holds much water."
Ross says the kind of data that would be necessary to prove the Ferguson effect are not available for research purposes.
Listen to this episode of The Diane Rehm Show and read the transcript.
Learn more about Prof. Ross and the University of Baltimore's School of Criminal Justice.