Are Cops Racist? [Hardcover]

Heather MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2002 | ISBN-10: 156663489X | ISBN-13: 978-1566634892 | Edition: First Edition

Brilliant journalist Heather Mac Donald investigates the workings of the police, the controversy over racial profiling, and the anti-profiling lobby's harmful effects on black Americans.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The anti-profiling crusade thrives on an ignorance of policing and a willful blindness to the demographics of crime," writes Heather Mac Donald in this powerful and persuasive examination of racial profiling. Noting that crime has dropped in urban areas over the past decade, she writes that "The last ten years should have been a time of triumph for law enforcement, not an occasion for frenzied cop-bashing." Yet an anti-police stance has pervaded the media in recent years, particularly in The New York Times, she says. This bias, combined with suffocating federal regulations, brought about by both the Clinton and the Bush Justice Departments, threaten to reverse the progress made. It also causes unnecessary friction between police and the public, makes neighborhoods less safe, and even dissuades officers from fighting crime aggressively for fear of being labeled a racist. In instances where the police were clearly in the wrong--most notably the much-publicized and tragic Amadou Diallo shooting--Mac Donald posits that these are isolated cases of poor judgment and failure to follow procedure rather than evidence of systemic racism.

Since much of the profiling issue revolves around highway patrolling, Mac Donald looks closely at the misleading statistics that have been used to back up such practices as tabulating the race of drivers pulled over by the police. Mac Donald punches so many holes in the statistics that it's difficult not to concur with her. She further attacks the "collective fairy tale that all groups commit drug crimes at equal rates," arguing that the police are simply going to where the crime is, not willfully picking on one group while ignoring others. She also does extensive field work: interviewing cops around the country, particularly black officers who find the race-bias argument specious; reporting from urban neighborhoods; and witnessing firsthand how the New York Police Department trains its rookie officers. She also points out that local police are "the first line of defense against terrorism" and makes a particularly compelling argument that racial-profiling should be used as a tool in combating such threats. Overall, this forceful book is sure to arouse controversy--which is exactly the point. --Shawn Carkonen

From Library Journal

MacDonald (The Burden of Bad Ideas) is one of the few authors who attempts to justify current policing methods, arguing that the truth about policing and issues related to race is not known to the general public. She contends that the police should be receiving accolades for all the good work they do; instead, they are constantly attacked by the media (especially the New York Times), which offer unsubstantiated claims that racial profiling is running amok. MacDonald presents a great deal of evidence to debunk this media-driven myth: law-abiding inner-city citizens want a highly visible police presence, black officers pull over the same percentage of minority motorists as do their white counterparts, officers receive many hours of sensitivity and diversity training, and so on. In particular, she takes great exception to what she sees as the New York Times's biased approach to covering police matters, showing, for instance, that they do not report such incidents as police officers capturing gun-wielding felons without firing a shot, as the NYPD has done 155 times since 1995. This book is essential reading for anyone who assumes that racial profiling is an undisputed fact. Highly recommended for collections in criminal justice and the social sciences.
Tim Delaney, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 186 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee; First Edition edition (November 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156663489X
• ISBN-13: 978-1566634892
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.6 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,220,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, well-researched piece of work. May 26, 2003

By D. A. Martin

Format:Hardcover

I just finished reading "Are Cops Racist" by Heather MacDonald. As an African-American and newly minted "Black Neo-conservative," I commend the author for not only showing, though painstaking reseach, interviews and thoughtful analysis, the fictitious and politcally motivated accusations against cops of racial profiling, but also stressing how such nonsense (further propogated by a left-leaning media) will do more harm than good to law-abiding citizens - particularly African-Americans. As the old saying goes, "the truth hurts." This book should leave cop-bashers nationwide with a serious hangover for a long time.

47 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The book debunks some sacred myths November 22, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

We all decry racial-profiling, right? Only one problem: racial profiling does not exist.

The author documents how this myth began with black "leaders" complaining that too many blacks were being stopped for traffic violations. Liberal politicians quickly jumped on the bandwagon and demanded a study. With hysteria in full bloom, a federal study was produced showing that blacks were, indeed, stopped at a disproportionate rate for traffic violations along the New Jersey Turnpike. With the New Jersey Turnpike study in hand, President Clinton, then candidate G.W. Bush, and numerous governors were all out denouncing racial profiling and demanding reform. The hysteria then moved to the courts were numerous arrests were thrown out due to the claim that they were stopped because of their race.

Nobody ever asked the question: Are blacks being stopped at a disproportionate rate because they are committing traffic violations at a disproportionate rate. Even asking such a question usually resulted in charges of racism. To answer this question, however, the New Jersey Attorney General commissioned a study that employed radar to trigger a camera which snapped a picture of the driver whenever said driver exceeded the speed limit along points throughout New Jersey Turnpike. The report showed that blacks did, indeed, speed at a disproportionate rate, double that of whites. Needless to say, the politicians were shocked at the results. The DOJ continued to sidestep the study. The study was performed by the Public Service Institute for Safety in Maryland. The researchers even offered to submit the tests and methodologies to the National Academy of Sciences for peer review. In the end the media and politicians didn't contest the results, they instead chose to just ignore the study. Nobody wanted to tell black folks that they speed at twice the rate of whites and, hence, were ticketed at twice the rate of whites, especially after all the hoopla. The results were not politically acceptable.

The book debunks many other charges of racism such as that during the Cincinnati riots. We all heard about the white racist cops that were out of control and shooting innocent black folks in Cincinnati. Cincinnati suffered greatly during the riots with black "leaders" out front demanding reform to stop the racist cops and demanding more government social programs to appease the agry rioters. The facts, however, showed that of the 15 black offenders that were shot to death, four were shot by black officers. One of the offenders was shot after he hacked to death his girlfriend and was waving the axe at the cops. Another was shot after he dragged a black police officer to his death. In short, when the facts were examined, there was no evidence that the cops were racist and out of control.

After reading this book and books like "Coloring the News" one has to ask why is there so much manipulation out there designed to inflame black resentment against cops, against the government, and against whites in general. Why is there a constant stream of misinformation designed to keep black folks bitter and resentful against whites in general? First, many black "leaders" gain power and prestige and are rewarded financially with more government programs when racial tension is increased. Jesse Jackson, for instance, lives in a 16 room mansion. He obviously has benefited greatly by inflaming racial tensions against large corporations and against the government, and then offering to fix the problems for large fees. Second, the Democrats are beholden to a black constituency. 90% of the black vote went to Democrats. So the Democrats obviously have a stake in perpetuating myths that blacks need the Democrats to rectify the racial situation. Without the black vote the Democratic party would be dead. So there are many reasons for this.

As far as being stopped. I have been stopped numerous times-I am white. In each instance, I stayed calm, cooperated, and was usually sent on my way with a ticket. Nothing newsworthy.

27 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How anti-profiling lobbying produces harmful results February 8, 2003

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

Heather MacDonald's Are Cops Racist? maintains that opposition to racial profiling threatens to erode crime-fighting gains of the last decade. Chapters show how this profiling has led to increased insights on the demographics of crime and criminals - and chapters consider how anti-profiling lobbying produces harmful results for blacks and all peoples. An intriguing discussion.