De-policing and crime in the wake of Ferguson: Racialized changes in the quantity and quality of policing among Missouri police departments

Center of Public Criminology Director Scott Decker co-authored a study examining whether "de-policing," or withdrawal from active police work, had occurred in Missouri police departments after protests in Ferguson, Missouri following the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager.

Study Highlights

• "We examined whether “de-policing” has occurred among a sample of Missouri police departments in the wake of Ferguson."

• "Results indicate that agencies made fewer traffic stops but yielded higher contraband “hit rates” in 2015 compared to 2014."

• "Departments were more likely to engage in de-policing in jurisdictions with higher percentages of African-American residents."

• "Changes in traffic stops and hit rates have not corresponded with increases in total, violent, or property crime rates."

John A. Shjarback, David C. Pyrooz, Scott E. Wolfe, Scott H. Decker

Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 50, May-June 2017

Link to full study