The 2020 De-Policing: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

In 2020, police activities decreased substantially across large U.S. cities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd by a police officer. Less well understood are when and where the de-policing phenomenon took place. Using NYC panel data from 2017 to 2022 at the census tract level, the study found significant declines in proactive policing, immediately subsequent to the stay-at-home order and/or death of George Floyd. However, all police activities began increasing during the summer of 2020 and ultimately returned to the pre-intervention level and afterwards above it in early 2022. In addition, there is evidence that both the pandemic and BLM protests interact with neighborhood factors in affecting police activities, but not in the same direction. The results are robust across a range of model specifications. Finally, research and policy implications are discussed.