Heather Mac Donald on Discretionary Policing, Violent Crime, and Black Lives Matter

Summary: Heather Mac Donald, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joined the Federalist Radio Hour to discuss her new book, “The War on Cops.” MacDonald addressed the motives of movements like BlackLivesMatter and how it has impacted police forces across the nation. Mac Donald said crime decreased during the years of economic downturn since 2008 despite liberal rhetoric that economic downturn increases crime. “Staring in the second half 2014 however, after the shooting of Michael Brown and Ferguson, Missouri…crime in heavily black neighborhoods starting going up because again officers are backing off of policing under the relentless hostility they get on the streets and under the message that they they are the biggest threat facing young black men,” she said. Domenech and Mac Donald discuss the “Ferguson Effect”, discretionary policing, Freddie Gray, the broken windows theory, and what policing is becoming in Chicago, Detroit, and other urban areas.