- Sep 6, 2000
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Story lead-in:
"The cops on the street have different names for it: de-policing, selective disengagement, tactical detachment. They even joke about it, calling themselves 'tourists in blue.'
Whatever the term, rank-and-file officers in the Seattle Police Department say it is a spreading phenomenon in the city's black neighborhoods, and a logical reaction to chronic charges of police racism.
De-policing is passive law enforcement: Officers consciously stop trying to prevent low-level crime and simply react to 911 calls. Many officers, wary of being labeled racists or racial profilers, say they hold back or bypass opportunities to make traffic stops or arrests of black suspects."
Story lead-in:
"The cops on the street have different names for it: de-policing, selective disengagement, tactical detachment. They even joke about it, calling themselves 'tourists in blue.'
Whatever the term, rank-and-file officers in the Seattle Police Department say it is a spreading phenomenon in the city's black neighborhoods, and a logical reaction to chronic charges of police racism.
De-policing is passive law enforcement: Officers consciously stop trying to prevent low-level crime and simply react to 911 calls. Many officers, wary of being labeled racists or racial profilers, say they hold back or bypass opportunities to make traffic stops or arrests of black suspects."