Demonstrations, demoralization, and de‐policing

• Author: Lorie A. Fridell,Christopher J. Marier
• Date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12492
• Published date: 01 August 2020

DOI: 10.1111/1745-9133.12492

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH IN POLICE POLICY AND PRACTICE

Demonstrations, demoralization, and de-policing

Christopher J. Marier1Lorie A. Fridell2

1Appalachian State University

2University of South Florida

Correspondence

Christopher J. Marier,Depar tment of Gov-

ernment & Justice Studies,Appalachian State

University,352 Anne Belk Hall, ASU Box

32107,Boone, NC 28608.

Email:mar iercj@appstate.edu

Research Summary: This study examined relationships

between public antipathy toward the police, demoraliza-

tion, and de-policing using pooled time-series cross sec-

tions of 18,413 surveys from law enforcement officers in

87 U.S. agencies both before and after Ferguson and con-

temporaneous demonstrations. The results do not provide

strong support for Ferguson Effects.Post-Ferguson changes

to job satisfaction, burnout, and cynicism (reciprocated

distrust) were negligible. Although Post-Ferguson officers

issued fewer citations and conducted less foot patrol, effect

sizes were minimal in magnitude. Cynicism, which was

widespread both before and after Ferguson, was associated

with reduced officer activity.

Policy Implications: Post-Ferguson protests in 2014 did

not appreciably worsen police morale nor lead to substan-

tial withdrawal from most police work, suggesting that the

police institution is resilient to exogenous shocks. Low job

satisfaction, however, was associated with fewer citations,

and cynicism was negatively associated with both cita-

tions issued and community meeting attendance, indicat-

ing that agencies may need to address officer attitudes—

irrespective of legitimacy crises—to promote proactive

policing and community engagement.

KEYWORDS

de-policing, Ferguson Effect, police legitimacy, police morale, public

attitudes

Does increased public criticism of police demoralize police and lead to de-policing? St. Louis Police

Chief Sam Dotson answered in the affirmative when he suggested that public outcries following

Criminology & Public Policy. 2020;19:693–719. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/capp © 2020 American Society of Criminology 693

694 MARIER AND FRIDELL

controversial police killings of citizens led to lower police morale, causing officers to withdraw

from proactive policing and thereby encouraging criminals to act with impunity. He termed this the

“Ferguson Effect” (Byers, 2014).

Others quickly seized on this claim. An influential op-ed in the Wall Street Journal written

by journalist Heather MacDonald passionately argued that “agitation against American police”

produced low morale and fear of discipline, which, in turn, led to a withdrawal from proactive

strategies such as broken windows policing. The result, the op-ed claimed, was a “surge in law-

lessness” (MacDonald, 2015a, para. 6). When FBI statistics for the first quarter of 2016 suggested

a dramatic increase in violence in many cities, FBI director James Comey, referring to videos

of alleged police misconduct, suggested that a “viral video effect” led officers to engage less

frequently in proactive police work for fear of being scrutinized (Lichtblau, 2016, para. 2). More

recently, Attorney General William Barr argued that if communities don’t show the police “support

and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need” (Elfrink, 2019,

para. 4).

The “Ferguson Effect” is a new term, but its argument is not. The subtitle of MacDonald’s (2017)

book—“How the new attack on law and order makes everyone less safe”—echoes the back cover of

police psychologist Lawrence Blum’s book Stoning the Keepers at the Gate (2002) which, fifteen

years earlier, argued that “blanket condemnation of the police threatens the very liberties that make

such condemnation possible, as well as the safety of the American public in their homes and lives.”

Consistent with these claims, policing researchers have identified several plausible consequences of

strained police–public relations, including cynicism (Niederhoffer,1967), emotional withdrawal (Skol-

nick, 2011), and a “lay-low” approach to police work (Reuss-Ianni, 2011; Van Maanen, 1974).

The Ferguson Effect, as it is described, consists of a multistep causal process wherein criticism of

the police contributes to higher crime through its effect on police attitudes (morale) and behaviors

(de-policing). The argument suggests that (a) widespread criticism and protest of police demoralizes

officers, (b) low morale leads to de-policing, and (c) de-policing leads to higher crime rates. Prior

research suggests that, although crime rates rose in many cities in the year after the events in Ferguson,

it did not rise uniformly across the United States and it was not related to de-policing (Pyrooz, Decker,

Wolfe,& Shjarback, 2016; Rosenfeld, 2016; Shjarback, Pyrooz, Wolfe, & Decker, 2017). The purpose

of the current study is to assess related hypotheses central to the Ferguson Effect: whether widespread

antipathy toward police after the police-related deaths of Black men during late 2014 and early 2015

reduced police morale and led to de-policing, and whether low morale was associated with de-policing.

The data come from two wavesof completed surveys from 18,413 officers from 87 departments across

the nation. The first wave wasadministered before the events associated with the Ferguson Effect, and

the second was administered in the midst of the rancorous discussion in this country wherein police

were accused of excessive and biased use of force.

1LITERATURE REVIEW

This section provides historical context bydescr ibing the widespread rise in public criticism and protest

that occurred after the deaths. The subsequent sections provide background information on the claims

that (a) the widespread public antipathy led to lowered police morale and (b) the low police morale

produced de-policing. In both sections, the Ferguson Effect claims set forth by police officials and

other commentators (mostly in media accounts) are documented, followed bya discussion of empir ical

literature supporting that claim.