The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe

The first few chapters are interesting in terms of how they describe the "Ferguson effect," which would have been a better name for the book. As it proceeds, it gets repetitive and the reader definitely gets the sense that he or she is reading a collection of essays from different places. I picked this up when I saw it on the New Nonfiction shelf at the library because I read about the author's being shouted down at colleges. It's a shame that those students--who presumably espouse the importance of "different points of view"-- can't entertain an honest debate. Mac Donald's logic is pretty simple and straightforward: if cops, of any race, become afraid of making arrests because they don't want to be the next YouTube sensation, then show more crime rates will rise. This is controversial? Also note that Mac Donald defends Jerry Brown and attacks Newt Gingrich, so she is hardly a mannequin. show less

The author makes some compelling arguments about the need for more proactive policing, especially in high crime areas, such as inner cities. She discusses how law-abiding citizens in these areas actually desire more aggressive police involvement because the result is that crime decreases, they feel safer in their neighborhoods so they can leave their homes to do what they need to without fear, and more businesses become attracted to those areas because they do not need to worry about the safety of the employees or patrons. The author looks at statistics quoted to support the position that such proactive policing is racially biased, but she interprets these statistics with different results, something that reflects how statistics can be show more interpreted in numerous ways. I found her book to be a thoughtful look at some difficult issues that need to be addressed more successfully than what we are now doing. show less

A good collection of Mac Donald's writings on the police, crime, and the criminal justice system. Since their from magazines, there are no citations (no endnotes or bibliography), which lessens its value as a resource, though she does name her sources often (especially for statistics). For a counter to B.L.M.-style arguments about policing, crime, and prisons, it is good. It's already dates, however, since so much stuff has happened since 2016.