By Julian Hattem – 11/13/15 02:15 PM EST
Weeks after a sharp rebuke from the White House, FBI Director James Comey is sticking to his claim that putting police under a microscope is leading to an uptick in crime.
On Thursday, Comey delivered remarks at an FBI field office in Kansas City, Mo., that echoed his previous concerns linking extra scrutiny on police to what he describes as a lack of enthusiasm to tackle violent crime.
“Hundreds of police officers and chiefs” have told Comey that the prospect of getting caught on camera and turned into a viral YouTube video have made them less willing to do their jobs, he said.
“’We are making arrests, we are doing our jobs,’” police tell Comey, he said, according to a pair oflocal news reports.
“’Where we are stepping back a little bit is at the margins, where we might otherwise have gotten out of our cars and talked to a group. We’re not doing that so much anymore because we don’t feel like being that guy in the video.’”
Following the Royals’ victory in the World Series this year, the FBI head used a baseball analogy to make his point.
If Major League Baseball decided to pay special attention to pitchers who throw inside and happened to hit a couple of batters, Comey explained, they would “move the ball a little closer towards the center of the plate.”
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/260080-fbi-head-doubles-down-on-ferguson-effect
