BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS, FATAL POLICE INTERACTIONS, AND CRIME

Abstract

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was a prominent social movement largely focused on raising awareness of and reducing police use-of-force and fatal interactions with police. However, opponents of the movement have feared it could lead to decreased proactive policing and increased crime. Using a state-by-month fixed effects model, I find evidence that an additional protest in the preceding month leads to a decrease of.225 fatal interactions between Blacks and police per 10 million Black population. In addition, I find no evidence supporting increased crime or arrests as a result of the BLM movement. (JEL J15, D91, Z13).