Editorial: The Ferguson effect

By Herald Staff11 hours ago

In two speeches just days apart, the head of the FBI indicated in no uncertain terms that he buys into the so-called Ferguson effect theory - that the fact that cops on the beat are haunted by the growing number of investigations and protests over police shootings in minority communities may well be linked to an uptick in violence in those communities.

James Comey told the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual convention that "part of the explanation" for a recent spike in crime "is a chill wind blowing through American law enforcement over the last year."

"That wind is surely changing behavior," Comey said. "Part of that behavior change is to be welcomed, as we continue to have important discussions about police conduct and de-escalation and the use of deadly force. Those are essential discussions, and law enforcement will get better as a result.

"But we can't lose sight of the fact that there really are bad people standing on the street with guns. The young men dying on street corners all across this country are not committing suicide or being shot by the cops. They are being killed, police chiefs tell me, by other young men with guns."

Sure, the availability of drugs and the light sentences for drug-related crimes he cited as other contributing factors. But the kind of police restraint that some communities are demanding can't help but make some officers rethink the way they do their jobs.

In an earlier speech at Chicago Law School, Comey raised exactly that question:

"In today's YouTube world, are officers reluctant to get out of their cars and do the work that controls violent crime? Are officers answering 911 calls but avoiding the informal contact that keeps bad guys from standing around, especially with guns?"

Boston has been more fortunate than most major cities in large part because police have been proactive in reaching out to minority community leaders before potentially volatile incidents escalate. What Comey referred to as the ever-widening "arcs" that separate the "Black Lives Matter" crowd from the "Police Lives Matter" folks aren't quite so unbridgeable here.

What we can all learn from the director's speech, however, is that making sure those "arcs" don't grow wider is important - and it's everybody's job.