Trying to get policy right is a humbling experience. Sometimes you get it right, are way off base, or some parts right and trip on others. My Predicting a decline in public safety, especially in some significant cities after the Ferguson riots, is sadly proving true every day. On the other hand, while I am generally right about the lockdown disasters, I was off-base on the vaccines. 

Politicians’ failure to stand firmly behind Ferguson, Mo. officer Darren Wilson when he had to shoot the attacking Michael Brown set off a chain of events diminishing public safety. At the time, I predicted dire consequences. Unfortunately, they came to pass.  

No matter how justified the shooting, the message is a white officer who shot a black is in a world of hurt. Darren Wilson left the police force and hasn’t been heard from since. Much of Ferguson was destroyed and has never recovered. Michael Brown’s parents pocketed a $1.5 million settlement, even though a grand jury and the Justice Department never found fault with Wilson’s actions.

Demanding police reform, meaning the police should look like the communities policed. This policy meant hiring and promoting more minorities. Increased oversight and clamoring for the removal of qualified immunity protecting officers from being sued personally swept across the nation.