By Jason Riley, Editorial Contributor Wall Street Journal
Jason Riley, a longtime member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Staff tried to provide his perspective given the national discussion about policing and race relations.
Riley highlights that the political left, with a great deal of assistance from mainstream media , has convinced many Americans that George Floyd’s death in police custody is an everyday occurrence for black people in this country and that racism permeates law enforcement.
The reality is that the interactions between police and low-income blacks are driven by crime rates, not bias. According to the Sun-Times, there were 492 homicides in Chicago last year, and only three involved the police.
So long as blacks are committing more than half of all murders and robberies while making up only 13% of the population, and so long as almost all of their victims are their neighbors, these communities will draw the lion’s share of police attention. Defunding the police, or making it easier to prosecute officers, will only result in more lives lost in those neighborhoods that most need protecting.
While debate about the role of rouge police is appropriate, there has been a significant decline in deadly force against Blacks. In New York City, the number has declined from 300 in the early 1970s to 34 by 2019.
In an article in the New York Times, the paper failed to show that blacks and whites were treated differently for the same offense nor the crime rate per capita by the black residents of Minneapolis.
Riley pointed out that police withdrawal from a neighborhood gives criminals opportunity to take advantage of black communities both physically and economically. If riots continue, then business flight will occur in beleaguered neighborhoods.
The Walmart and Target stores in Chicago that were looted last week are two of the city’s largest retailers. They employ a disproportionate number of low-skilled workers, and they haven’t decided whether to reopen. If they don’t, it could mean fewer jobs and higher prices for underserved minorities. Before we divert resources away from policing, maybe we should consider the effect it would have on the willingness and ability of businesses to operate in places where they’re most needed.
