This Study Isn't Surprising, But May Not Show What it Says

This study shows more stops and arrests by White police than by Black police.

The author seems to think this means that the Black police are more sensitive to the Black community's needs, and that would indicate that they are more effective officers. Few arrests, better community relations, right?

Well, maybe not.

What it does show is that Black police are more likely, when the suspect is engaging in 'Iffy' behavior, to ignore it and not challenge it.

Do they do it because they have a better 'sense' that it's just a random cultural difference, and - for the good of community-police relations - they should accept the different norm, and move on?

Possibly.

Or, perhaps, they value being accepted by the community more than they want to uphold order.

Can't tell from this study - it may be all some, all, or none of the stops/arrests were valid. It might be that the Black police officers were ignoring 'petty crimes' - precisely the type that have gotten many officers into a major confrontation, and subsequent community uprising.

This isn't new. Many of the riots of the past were touched off by a relatively small incident, that, when the officer pursued his investigation, resulted in widespread rejection of the right of the police to do their job. In Watts, it was a minor traffic stop on a car that lit the flames of outrage. In that case, a resisting offender, rather than quietly go, fanned the crowd to widespread outrage.

Some of that was because the resistant suspects were popular in their neighborhoods. Arresting a guy with friends/allies is dangerous (as it was with many of the Italian mobsters of the 1930s). For that reason, the current practice of stop & frisk can lead to arrests, but when many people are on the streets, and their potential allies are around, this is dangerous.

Like it was when the Federal government insisted on making their confrontation with Koresh at HIS place. Or, Randy Weaver. Or countless others.

Should we ignore crime?

No. But, when in 'Da Hood, it pays to make that arrest quietly, with minimal disruption, and not hang around. Such a prolonged process gives local activists time to gather, the fellow's relatives time to show up and make a fuss, and video that will be used in a damaging way to be collected.

It's not the video of the incident that always causes the problem, it's the vocals accompanying it. Anguished cries of "Let him go! He didn't do anything" and "She's a woman! Don't hurt her!" - doesn't matter that she tried to eviscerate that Black girl, she's an Honor Student! (who spent much of this year avoiding school, and whose grades did not bear out that claim).

Fortunately, the community didn't go gonzo on that officer. But, the activists TRIED to make it Yet Another Flashpoint for Riots (YAFR).

The initial incidents aren't manufactured completely - there is always a base confrontation.

It's just that tactics have to be revised, to minimize the public confrontations. Sweep in, grab the guy, and remove him from the scene. Handle it without giving the crowd a chance to gather. And, for God's sake, don't have multiple cops just standing around. Detail them to gather information from bystanders - including checking their IDs. A few of them will have outstanding warrants or other issues that will persuade them to leave without a fuss. More importantly, get them off the sidewalk/street, and work on defusing their outrage/getting their side of the story.