First published 2016
Heather Mac Donald examines the sharp rise in violent crime across American cities following decades of decline. She focuses on what she terms the "Ferguson effect," where police officers have reduced proactive policing since Michael Brown's 2014 shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri. Mac Donald argues this retreat has emboldened criminals and contributed to a nearly 17 percent jump in homicides during 2015 in the largest 50 cities. She disputes the Black Lives Matter movement's central claim that racist police officers pose the primary threat to young black men. Instead, she contends that criminals and gang members drive high black homicide rates. Mac Donald analyzes data on officer use of force and incarceration patterns, arguing that crime rather than race determines police responses and prison populations. She credits proactive policing expansion in the 1990s and longer sentences for violent offenses with saving thousands of minority lives. The author presents voices from high crime neighborhoods who support active police engagement and warns that race focused attacks on law enforcement undermine legal authority while endangering lives.
Genres: american, politics, crime, social-issues, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary
Setting: America, Ferguson, Missouri
Period: 2014, 2015
248 pages · Hardcover · Encounter Books