De-policing is a term for police disengaging from active police work, generally as a reaction to external scrutiny or negative publicity. A form of work slowdown, de-policing represents a de facto

police strike A police strike is a potential tactic when law enforcement workers are embroiled in a labour dispute. Sometimes military personnel are called in to keep order or discipline the strikers. Police strikes have the potential to cause civil unrest. Li ...

, in which the police withdraw an aspect of their crime prevention services. It is a practical police protest at perceived political interference in their day-to-day task of policing. Conservative author

Heather Mac Donald Heather Lynn Mac Donald (born November 23, 1956) is an American conservative political commentator, essayist, lawyer, and author.Charles C. W. Cooke, February 26, 2014, National ReviewYes, Atheism and Conservatism are Possible: You needn’t bel ...

offered another interpretation for the term "de-policing". In her book ''The War on Cops'', she used the term as the antithesis for pro-active policing in general. In the light of the 2014 killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York and criticism of " broken windows" policing, MacDonald used the term ''de-policing'' to describe the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

's policy of backing away from actively pursuing stop-and-frisk procedures as a primary method of crime prevention. According to a 2019 study, there is no evidence that de-policing contributes to city homicide rates. A 2017 FBI study suggested that law enforcement felt a "chill wind" after several high-profile police killings in recent years—especially the 2014

shooting of Michael Brown On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson. Wilson, a white male Fergu ...

in Ferguson, Missouri. The study noted the stance of politicians, the media, and the broader social movement making people feel that it was acceptable "to challenge and discredit law enforcement actions"; and proposed that these circumstances have demoralized police officers and led them to do less on the job. In a 2017 survey by Pew Research Center, 86% of police officers said they believed that police killings of African Americans had made policing more difficult. Recent court decisions like ''Ligon'' and ''Floyd'' have also contributed to the atmosphere of de-policing in many American cities, but particularly New York City. Cities like

Ferguson, Missouri Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 18,527, and is predominantly Bla ...

and

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

have been similarly affected due to what is perceived as unfair and aggressive policing in minority communities.

References

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External links

Racial profiling is confirmed: Police face new rules on ticketing
The Boston Globe, May 4, 2004, by

Bill Dedman Bill Dedman is an American investigative reporter and author. He is best known for ''The Color of Money'', his 1988 investigation of redlining of middle-income black neighborhoods by banks and other mortgage lenders. Dedman received the 1989 Pu ...

.
NIGHTLINE: AMERICA IN BLACK & WHITE: DE-POLICING: 07/23/2001
Law enforcement theory Types of policing Police strikes

See also

References

External links