Violent Crime Rising — The 'Ferguson Effect'

Police, under criticism for being "racist," are backing off enforcement — and the result is predictable.

According to Pew Research crime data, the rate of violent crime dropped almost 50% in the decade up to 2015. At the same time, the rate of firearm sales and ownership has steadily increased. Thus, as research by former Yale professor John Lott concludes, “More Guns, Less Crime.”

Notably, however, the latest FBI crime stats indicate that violent crime in 2015 and 2016 is trending upward, due in large measure to the “Ferguson Effect,” a correlation noted by crime researcher Heather Mac Donald, who authored “Are Cops Racist?”

After the justified shooting of a Ferguson, Missouri, thug, national and local Demo politicians joined Barack Obama’s war on cops, condemning police for “racial profiling.”

Mac Donald explains, “Cops are backing off of proactive policing in high-crime minority neighborhoods, and criminals are becoming emboldened. Having been told incessantly by politicians, the media, and Black Lives Matter activists that they are bigoted for getting out of their cars and questioning someone loitering on a known drug corner at 2 AM, many officers are instead just driving by.”

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