Changes in Enforcement of Low-Level and Felony Offenses Post-Ferguson: An Analysis of Arrests in St. Louis, Missouri

• Main Authors: Lee Ann Slocum, Claire Greene, Beth M. Huebner, Richard Rosenfeld
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tatar Educational Center "TAGLIMAT" Ltd. 2020-06-01
• Series: Aktualʹnye Problemy Èkonomiki i Prava
• Subjects: crime
• Online Access: http://apel.ieml.ru/storage/archive_articles/9973.pdf
• ISSN: 1993-047X; 2410-0390

Objective to study changes inenforcement of lowlevel offenses and felonies in the City of St. Louis Missouri after the highprofile events in Ferguson. nbsp Methods dialectical approach to the cognition of social phenomena which uses the following research methods based on it general scientific analysis synthesis induction and specific scientific methods formallegal systemic comparativelegal sociological. nbsp Results as a result of several highly publicized incidents of police killing unarmed Black suspects many contend that American police are in the midst of a crisis. Police have faced high levels of public scrutiny that some argue has stifled police activities and led to spikes in violent crime. This phenomenon ndash coined in the aftermath of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri ndash has become widely known as the Ferguson Effect. This study uses seven years of data and time series analysis to assess whether the events in Ferguson were associated with a reduction in arrests for felonies and lowlevel offenses in the nearby City of St. Louis Missouri. nbsp Scientific novelty it is shown that there was an initial reduction in lowlevel arrests of Whites and Blacks in the wake of Ferguson. Enforcement of misdemeanors and ordinance violations then increased and returned to expected levels but only for Blacks. PostFerguson felony arrests initially dropped for Blacks but not Whites and then climbed for both groups. This work adds to the burgeoning literature on police responses in the wake of a highprofile shooting. nbsp Practical significance the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific educational and law enforcement activities when considering issues related to prevention and elimination crime.