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  4. May 2022
  5. Does (All) Police Violence Cause De-policing? Evidence from George Floyd and Police Shootings in Minneapolis

Does (All) Police Violence Cause De-policing? Evidence from George Floyd and Police Shootings in Minneapolis

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Abstract

We test for a "Ferguson Effect" by studying how police effort responds to different incidents of police violence. We do so using two settings in Minneapolis: (1) George Floyd's murder, and (2) police-involved shootings. We find that following George Floyd's death, arrests and police-initiated calls decreased by 62 and 69 percent, respectively. By comparison, arrests and police-initiated calls decreased by 3 and 1.5 percent following police-involved shootings. We conclude that incidents of police violence generate "de-policing," and the effect is much larger following highly publicized incidents.

Citation

Mikdash, Maya, and Reem Zaiour. 2022. "Does (All) Police Violence Cause De-policing? Evidence from George Floyd and Police Shootings in Minneapolis." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 112: 170-73. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20221098

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • H76 State and Local Government: Other Expenditure Categories
  • K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law