Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot in the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ report, Police Use of Force: An Examination of Modern Policing Practices
17 Pages Posted: 16 Nov 2018
Date Written: 2018
Abstract
On November 15, 2018, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights published a report, entitled Police Use of Force: An Examination of Modern Policing Practices. This individual Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot is a part of that report.
In it, Commissioner Heriot points out that, during the Jim Crow Era, the most common complaint among African Americans about law enforcement was that the authorities did not take crime against African Americans seriously. Although that kind of neglect receives little attention in the media today, it continues to be a significant problem.
Heriot cautions reformers not to lose sight of that concern. As crime declined in the United States in the 1990s and early 2000s, many African American neighborhoods in many different parts of the country blossomed. While certainly improvements in police practices can be made, it is important not to engage in “reforms” that will discourage police officers from enforcing the law in African American neighborhoods.
Keywords: Law enforcement, criminal justice, police procedures, race, use of force, punishment, Ferguson effect
JEL Classification: K10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation