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Police violence reduces civilian cooperation and engagement with law enforcement

Author

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  • Desmond Ang
  • Panka Bencsik
  • Jesse Bruhn
  • Ellora Derenoncourt

Abstract

How do high-profile acts of police brutality affect public trust and cooperation with law enforcement? To investigate this question, we develop a new measure of civilian crime reporting that isolates changes in community engagement with police from underlying changes in crime: the ratio of police-related 911 calls to gunshots detected by ShotSpotter technology. Examining detailed data from eight major American cities, we show a sharp drop in both the call-to-shot ratio and 911 call volume immediately after the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Notably, reporting rates decreased significantly in both non-white and white neighborhoods across the country. These effects persist for several months, and we find little evidence that they were reversed by the conviction of Floyd’s murderer. Together, the results illustrate how acts of police violence may destroy a key input into effective law enforcement and public safety: civilian engagement and reporting.

Suggested Citation

  • Desmond Ang & Panka Bencsik & Jesse Bruhn & Ellora Derenoncourt, 2021. "Police violence reduces civilian cooperation and engagement with law enforcement," Working Papers 2021-005, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bro:econwp:2021-005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Knox, Dean & Lowe, Will & Mummolo, Jonathan, 2020. "Administrative Records Mask Racially Biased Policing—CORRIGENDUM," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(4), pages 1394-1394, November.
    2. Mark Hoekstra & CarlyWill Sloan, 2022. "Does Race Matter for Police Use of Force? Evidence from 911 Calls," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(3), pages 827-860, March.
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    4. Pyrooz, David C. & Decker, Scott H. & Wolfe, Scott E. & Shjarback, John A., 2016. "Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large U.S. cities?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-8.
    5. Frank Edwards & Hedwig Lee & Michael Esposito, 2019. "Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race–ethnicity, and sex," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(34), pages 16793-16798, August.
    6. Knox, Dean & Lowe, Will & Mummolo, Jonathan, 2020. "Administrative Records Mask Racially Biased Policing," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(3), pages 619-637, August.
    7. Carl Lieberman, 2020. "Variation in Racial Disparities in Police Use of Force," Working Papers 639, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    8. Desmond Ang, 2021. "The Effects of Police Violence on Inner-City Students," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(1), pages 115-168.
    9. Desmond Ang, 0. "The Effects of Police Violence on Inner-City Students," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 136(1), pages 115-168.
    10. Canice Prendergast, 2001. "Selection and Oversight in the Public Sector, With the Los Angeles Police Department as an Example," NBER Working Papers 8664, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Celislami, Elda & Kastoryano, Stephen & Mastrobuoni, Giovanni, 2023. "Strategic Bureaucratic Opacity: Evidence from Death Investigation Laws and Police Killings," IZA Discussion Papers 16609, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Jácome, Elisa, 2022. "The effect of immigration enforcement on crime reporting: Evidence from Dallas," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    4. Pauline Grosjean & Federico Masera & Hasin Yousaf, 2023. "Inflammatory Political Campaigns and Racial Bias in Policing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(1), pages 413-463.
    5. Cho, Sungwoo & Gonçalves, Felipe & Weisburst, Emily, 2021. "Do Police Make Too Many Arrests? The Effect of Enforcement Pullbacks on Crime," IZA Discussion Papers 14907, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Dale T. Manning & Jesse Burkhardt, 2022. "The local effects of federal law enforcement policies: Evidence from sanctuary jurisdictions and crime," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(3), pages 423-438, July.

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