War On Police Sparks National Crime Wave

Protesters rush a police line after a rally in Philadelphia

 on April 30, 2015. AP

Law And Disorder: Violent criminals are getting the upper hand as the "Ferguson effect" takes hold in cities across the country. Less-aggressive policing has emboldened the bad guys, leading to a nationwide spike in murder.

New data show murder rates have shot up across major cities as police morale plummets. Surveys show police feel "under siege" by race-baiting politicians and activists, as well as increasingly hostile suspects, and are second-guessing themselves as they respond to crimes. As IBD's Andrew Malcolm notes elsewhere, other surveys show Americans see the police under seige as well.

Officers fear violating softer new use-of-force and arrest policies pushed on cities by the Obama Justice Department will open them up to civil-rights prosecution. Many have backed off patrols and stops in dangerous urban areas as a result.

Fearing ambush, moreover, police in some cities are doubling up patrols, reducing the breadth of officer presence on the street. Inner-city residents complain criminals aren't being taken off the streets like before.

The result: Year-over-year homicide rates are up 76% in Milwaukee; 60% in St. Louis; 56% in Baltimore; 44% in Washington, D.C.; 22% in New Orleans; 20% in Chicago; 20% in Kansas City; and 17% in Dallas. And single-digit rises have been seen in New York and other cities.

Read the rest of this IBD editorial HERE.

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