Roland Fryer in seminar at UATX: The Truth About Policing in America

Roland Fryer leads a seminar on the economics of crime, racial differences in police use of force, and how to police the police. Session recorded at UATX Live on the University of Austin campus in February 2024.

[@bigdmister]

Roland Fryer is the new Thomas Sowell and these young people are blessed to hear his teachings. Truth in teaching is extremely rare and has been for decades.

[@Cecilia-ky3uw]

I'm doubtful he's taking the same hardline austrian stance

[@iforget6940]

​@Cecilia-ky3uw I think he means honest and likable smart, and seeking truth if you're not raceist.

[@bolenarrow9286]

I was thinking the same thing- this guy and Thomas need a microphone 10x as big than they have. It’s a fuckin travesty these aren’t voices that are more common in our discourse…

[@l.s.aldridge5798]

As a police officer, I so wish I could be sitting in that seat talking to Roland Fryer.

[@kricachula7546]

And what would you ask/tell him?

[@lefttorightandsometimesbac4783]

Agreed. Would love to have a panel like this with some law enforcement on panel, maybe a prosecutor, and defense lawyer. Would be awesome talk

[@lefttorightandsometimesbac4783]

What I think many of them are missing when talking around minute 12, is that crime didn't change yet incarceration rates went up. Whether there were more security cameras,etc. is not the question. Crime rates didn't change. Its possible that the proportion of crimes being committed became different ( more serious crimes and less minor) or/and the sentencing guidelines became longer or more strict or both. Period.

[@HM-sx6mg]

The boomers with their flower power began the decay of our countries morals in the 60s

[@jodiebasye9798]

I am extremely curious what would your input or question be?

[@jojolina7]

These are fortunate students and I’m fortunate to be able to “sit in”. Thanks.

[@domainpark4421]

Gosh this guy is so effortlessly good I could watch him all day. What a fantastic way to present a pretty dry and detailed look at policing. Roland is simply fantastic. Kudos to University of Austin for presenting this in the way.

[@donniecilenti2631]

He was basically kicked out of Harvard because of this. They pushed out one of the greatest minds they had

[@donniecilenti2631]

Not this talk specifically but for going through crime this way

[@adelmomontero3554]

There's a lot of subtle ways that police escalate an interaction with the public. That's where the violation of peoples rights come in. Police are not your friend, there is no accountability for their actions. Never bring them around your home as can harm your family and get away with it.

[@derp8575]

@@donniecilenti2631 When DEI backfires lol

[@whisper2284]

@@donniecilenti2631Good thing is that Roland is back at Harvard now. I work in Law Enforcement. This data matches common sense thinking. Nobody blithely discharges a gun. They know the consequences are significant. --Of course Police engage in 22% more use of low level of force against Black people because that demographic is where most crime and policing occurs. --Also, Police departments send their most of their novice police officers with the least experience to the inner city. An officer’s “beat” is based on seniority and union bidding. The veterans choose the safest neighborhoods to patrol as they age. --Roland didn’t talk about average years on the force of those cops who commit the most low level use of force. I will logically point out that cops with anywhere from 3 to 10 yrs commit the most harm to the community. --Newer cops tend to still follow the departmental rules and are optimistic; whereas, veterans with 15, 20 or more years are looking towards retirement and don’t care to rock the boat. --it is the mid career officers (5-15 yrs of service on the force) who become frustrated because they’re not close to retirement and they feel stuck. They carry the greatest risk of feeling the threat. --Police departments should focus on the mid-career group to reduce mental health challenges and reduce low level use of force.

[@griffinsdad9820]

52 yr old carpenter who secretly loves learning,. I'm listening to this on earbuds and low key got emotional at how much I was enjoying the class. Great content. Strength and love

[@OlcayAkkaya74]

50 yr old kitchen designer immigrant here who did not get to go to college in USA, as planned before coming . Listening to this lecture doing house chores. What a great service to put this up on You Tube.

[@rpjswish]

Just turned 61 yesterday, and I call it ha! Birthday.... never stop learning!

[@stp479]

Just know that the former Harvard president, and the admin. did everything they could to destroy Roland. Why? Because he follows truth, not narrative. A narrative they tend to like a garden to feed leftist ideology. @@OlcayAkkaya74

[@stp479]

65 yo carpenter who has worked alongside illegals framing homes in TX. before going off to college. Roland exposes some of the means by which Uniparty elites retain power through false narratives and division. Please see the mini doc. here on youtube covering how Harvard tried to erase both him and his legacy of truth. Let's just say that his antagonist recently got exactly what she deserved.

[@trainerdisability]

Addicted to these long firm interviews or podcasts. We are all life long learners

[@grtwhtbnr]

LEOs are watching this and are thankful. Thank you sir

[@brdforallseasons]

this is the worst possible "recommendation" for this trash lol

[@grtwhtbnr]

@@brdforallseasons I'll take someone who wants to learn, talk, and invest in people than someone who doesn't know what they're doing taking the reigns and demanding compliance. This man actually rode in the black and whites, went to calls, did his study, redid his study, and encouraged more review. Noones disproved his data yet. Get your ass back in the cave (kitroom) if you're just gonna troll

[@manoverboard321]

​@@brdforallseasonsHow so?

[@grtwhtbnr]

@@rarefruit4173 people need to learn that it's not an "us vs them", it's not an occupation, that the communities provide the people who become police officers and the police officers work and police communities with the consent and faith of said community, and are a part of the communities they police. A majority of an officers time is spent in the community they patrol. They're in that community more than they are in their own, they are also probably there more than the people who actually live in that community.

[@stephensands3485]

I was an Econ major at UCLA and I’m now an attorney. This seminar was incredible, it reminded me of some of the best lectures I attended in undergrad-but even better! What I would give to be able to go back in time, go back to college and take a class with Roland Fryer and be able to go to his office hours. Very jealous of the students, and thank you for uploading this for the rest of us!

[@SamtheIrishexan]

Wow you didnt come out of UCLA as a Marxist? If so a good sign if critical thinking because Angela Davis turned that place into an indoctrination camp.

[@Because_Reasons]

Love Roland Fryer, and very happy UofA is putting this together. Can't believe what this man has had to endure for truth seeking.

[@matt96920]

there is nothing more refreshing than a lecture on microeconomics. It lays things out so clearly.

[@arthurwilliams8371]

As a Soon-to-Retire state trooper, You're my f*@king hero!!! Thank you for saying it and making since about how you got to those points.

[@drummerdoingstuff5020]

Thank you for your service

[@prettyprudent5779]

Thank you for all you do, Sir. 👩🏾‍🌾👩🏾‍🦱

[@jjtheherald008]

Absolutely love this. "Chicago style university, if you're not being interrupted they don't love you." Exactly three minutes in and a lady is already asking a question! Yes. We need more of this.

[@Nostolic]

Great job UATX, thank you for allowing this seminar to be uploaded for free, learned quite a bit from the session. The professor is one of the least biased individuals I’ve seen on this topic.

[@ruthgrady2824]

I grew up 22 miles east of Austin. I am thrilled to see a university that truly allows free thought established in the part of the state where I still have family living - living there now for 6 generations.

[@SamtheIrishexan]

Nice area i forget the name of that state park but love it out there.

[@jakubjodlowski8416]

Very thankful to UATX for sharing this 🙏

[@rahrahgobg]

I absolutely loved listening to this. This was super interesting. I could listen to more lectures and learning from Roland and Econ and Stats were some of my more challenging classes in college.

[@slin2678]

I love seeing the struggle of the, presumably, liberal students trying to wrap their head around the vehicle stop discussion. I never followed Roland Fry before but will def be keeping my eye out moving forward.

[@shokuchideirdrecarrigan7402]

Wonderful to see good teachers teach and bright, fearless students engage! Go Austin!

[@whm_w8833]

Brightest teacher: what’s the right number. How do you get better at catching people with drugs? Brightest student: how do you get better at hiding the drugs? 1:06:00

[@1bajolero]

A bright, reasonable man. We need more of him!

[@ahgdubh3366]

What a great conversation. I wish I could afford to quit my job and go to this university to learn.

[@Knowallwithmyphone]

Roland Fryer is one of my favorite intellectuals!! He’s so intellectually honest, he found the exact opposite of what he wanted to find but he still accepted it and printed it all while taking great ridicule!!

[@Kobe29261]

His courage is unimaginable; its like a man who painstakingly goes in search of infidelity, finds out that he's been cheating on his wife all along AND publishes a paper explaining his motivation!

[@ladymsthing6056]

Yep, reminds me of Dr. Sowell.

[@Knowallwithmyphone]

@@ladymsthing6056 He sure does!! The world needs a lot more people like those 2

[@lawman3966]

He endured more than ridicule. He endured threats to his job and career, and to his and his family's safety, even needing a police escort for awhile. He was later internally "prosecuted" on some B.S. sexual harrassment charge and was nearly fired ffom Harvard. His tormentor during this period was none other than Claudine Gay. She apparently finds Fryer to have been a harasser, but is cool with people threatening students with genocide. She's gone, thankfully, but Roland is still at Harvard. The good guys won for a change.

[@slin2678]

​@lawman3966 Gay's still at Harvard too. Just no longer the President.

[@RJKYEG]

This has me feeling nostalgic for my own time at university. I was a lousy student but this brings me back to the parts I enjoyed.

[@gaz0881]

This is great science. I love Roland Fryer's work. Thank you for sharing this and please keep them coming!

[@lloydgush]

He should be chief on the department of security.

[@TeeHaa0032]

Commanding Belgian law enforcing officer here. I learned a lot today. Thanks alot!

[@elijahwilliameby2030]

This is incredible. Thank you to whoever made this happen.

[@lincbradley6609]

I am not sure I can appreciate just how good this is. There is beauty in intellectual discourse.

[@genedickens1681]

Congratulations for creating an environment to actually improve our human experience.

[@tramayneyoung297]

Roland Frye is a national treasure. Claudine Gaye stepped on a rake pushing this man out the door. I'm happy to see that he’s still teaching.

[@mc80466]

I studied economics in undergrad and listening to this brings so much nostalgia for those first few classes having my mind opened to the economist’s way of viewing things. Before you know it, everything’s a utility function!

[@zyloxzylox3374]

I hope so dearly that this is the beginning of the world wide shift towards sanity! Greetings from Germany

[@zyloxzylox3374]

@@koschmx​​⁠yes, worldwide. Because woke insanity rules everywhere in the west.

[@merlesmith6794]

We wish

[@unclerhombus]

It won’t be. People will believe what they *want* to believe.

[@nedsprow3205]

Id like to see Dr. Fryer give us a study on the economics of media narrative distortion regarding policing in the US.

[@noexit4458]

This is very promising talk and response from the young students! Good job U of Austin!

[@cha390]

A wonderful lecture on a very actual and interesting topic. As economist I think this is a clever and valid trial to explain complex correlations in society and their perception in science, journalism and politics.

[@mrobert2707]

this is very well done. i wish more people would take the time to watch it

[@VincentFulco]

Huge admirer Professor. Keep up the great work.

[@blackknight9558]

This was amazing. Thank you, Professor Fryer, and University of Austin.

[@holliesaraswat6241]

A master class in leading a seminar. And kudos to the students for their questions and discussion.

[@otis7847]

I love this style of discussion, and really hope there is more like this to come. It would be great to be part of something like this.

[@dumpstershockey2746]

An excellent presentation. There are so many people that want to see social policy that is just and compassionate, but also driven by measurable data. Roland Fryer explains complex and frankly difficult topics in a way that is understandable and rational.

[@AnthonyCeravolo]

As prior law enforcement this was excellent conversation with great perspectives. Between how we’re trained, the tools he use everyday, and taboo of mental health (in law enforcement uniquely) there’s a lot that can be talked about and improved upon.

[@chadjohns6955]

This is really interesting, I would love to be in this course

[@ClintByrne]

Uatx has been putting out amazing stuff. This feels like what college was to me.

[@mariahrossi3072]

I loved this, I learned so much. Thank you for putting this on utube.

[@jonathanthomas4722]

Prof blowing my mind.

[@vanya3935]

Excellent discussion. This is how educators and scientists should be. Seeking the actual answer instead of trying prove political dogma. Thank you for taking the time to produce and publish this. It blessed my morning.

[@ladymsthing6056]

Dr. Fryer🙏🏾 very brave and intelligent man.

[@gordonsulc8319]

Wow! This makes me want to attend this university! My college classes did not measure up to this quality. Not even close. Great professor!

[@owenasmr.m2743]

This is such a treat. Transports me back to college while also is better than any college lesson I got

[@johnnyp5216]

I cant think of a more important topic that could both help a community and ease tensions in this country more than improving policing in this country. If I had a bags of 💰’s cash and was looking how to deploy it in a way to make a difference, the first place i would go would be to Roland. Give this man all the resources he needs to find real solutions to these issues to the extent that they exist. Prof. You are truly what i grew up thinking an academic was, and i am so very pleased to find at least one still exists.

[@scottinguito5997]

I just learned valuable information on the internet~! 🤓

[@funkyklunky.]

Roland, thank you for your work, effort to bring awareness, your bravery, and therefore a contribution to society. After watching this video, I see a very strong need for a video on the distinction between Guns and Illegal guns and criminal behavior in and around the distinction of guns and... Illegal guns. Legal- Guns vs ill-legal guns= Difference, distinction. Not the same thing

[@CAW78]

He was using "guns" as shorthand for "contraband." The studies are based on finding contraband which includes illegal guns/weapons, drugs, stolen property, etc.

[@Kobe29261]

Everytime I listen to him I get goose bumps; especially if you know what he came out of. Sure, what a mind; but also what a heart!

[@rosemaryalles6043]

Amen. Yes. Hopeful for America.

[@LMarkWeeks]

Wow, rational discourses instead of religious indoctrination. Awesome. I love the professor’s AI idea. Thank you for this.

[@gregjames9875]

The number one cause of poverty in the USA is single parenthood. Some of the social welfare programs in the USA... 1) Sec. 8 housing. 2) Title XX child care 3) Food stamps 4) Food banks 5) Clothing banks 6) Medicaid- Medicare 7) Free schooling-where kids can get breakfast and lunch. In 1960, the black American single parenthood rate was about 20%. Now it is 75%. Between 1964 and now, 22-24 trillion dollars have been used in the social welfare programs. The poverty rate has moved from 17-18% to 13-14%.

[@lifeofcanela]

Roland Fryer thank you 🙏🏽 you give hope for the future of Law Enforcement in America.

[@stephensands3485]

Can you please please PLEASE upload more of Roland’s lectures?

[@resilientrecoveryministries]

Balanced. Rational. Intelligent. Somebody should hire this Roland guy as a professor.

[@MrMaverick1855]

What an amazing piece of content!! Thank you for posting

[@scottinguito5997]

damn good seminar. Lots of food for thought~!

[@TeamDiezinelli]

What a great lecture! Thank you so much.

[@oo7tease]

Who is this beautiful man!? It makes my heart swell to know there are wonderful professors and young intellect with the integrity that this young man radiates. I love this man I could listen to him for hours . These kids are so fortunate to have this man help truly expand their intellect open their minds. Please more from this University.❤

[@friskygringo2031]

How can you not love Roland?

[@alvarodomenech1815]

I can listen to this guy all day long 💪

[@rosemaryalles6043]

I am grateful to see Roland Fryer teaching and young adults learning, questioning and participating. UATX! Thx. 💚 This was so interesting.

[@miajamison707]

YES, I would have love to be there presently!

[@deebonash1495]

He has every chance to be the next Thomas Sowell

[@WhoDeanyUnchained]

Haven't seen Roland Fryer in years and I must admit that I am really digging the locs!

[@kmaidotia]

He has been on youtube a lot of times but mainly if not fully to conservative channels

[@TheWeirdSide1]

What an incredible teacher! A joy to listen in!

[@jennifers7048]

Joe Rogan interview with Warren Smith brought me here January 2025. Thank you for such an insightful talk.

[@lanchparty]

I love this school. TRUE LEARNING.

[@convictednotconvinced]

This was interesting as hell and I wish I could have been part of it. Its like reading a Tom Sowell book. It must be a University of Chicago thing.

[@spencerantoniomarlen-starr3069]

That's why he kept mentioning the University of Chicago.

[@doyle9904]

“Any student willing to think calmly about these issues” - There was a time when that was an implicit requirement for entry to higher education.

[@giberthayworth6059]

On the crime stats being lower now than the 90's/ 2000's. Between the law raising the monetary threshold to be a felony causing crime reports to change, and the bail reform or police not even showing for anything less than emergency crime in progress, how many crimes are being misreported or not reported at all anymore?

[@dovonovich]

Exactly. I don’t buy it.

[@matthaze9765]

THIS IS SOOOOO refreshing, and a much more productive way to have these conversations and discuss potential solutions to discrimination and bias concerns than the insanity that's been consuming media, politics, and DEI hypotheses. Can we please replace the latter mentioned across America with this style of education as our norm? Thank you in advance.

[@Mister_Terrific806]

Nothing wrong with DEI , it actually reduces discrimination

[@kingsleyoji649]

​@@Mister_Terrific806no. It doesn't.

[@Mister_Terrific806]

@@kingsleyoji649 Propaganda says it doesn't , science has proven it does

[@kingsleyoji649]

@Mister_Terrific806 what science is that?

[@Mister_Terrific806]

@@kingsleyoji649 Numerous hypothesis tested, peer-reviewed and published studies from the social sciences. You've most likely read none of these studies and have succumbed to propaganda, which is being convinced without appealing to reason.

[@ty_vorhies]

This is incredible. Precisely what college should be. #RolandFryerSavesAmerica

[@EvidentialValue]

This is great! I do wish, however, the viewers can see the information from the TV too.

[@RC-ld8oj]

This should be mandatory for ALL reporters, who are so overwhelmingly afflicted by disparity fallacies.

[@stellavinokur9377]

It would be great to see the slides Roland is showing to the students

[@jellyrcw12]

I would love to be a student in this room!

[@whm_w8833]

I came for a discussion of race and crime. I came out also learning about finance, mortgages and IRR and race. How does this man know so much?

[@remielijah]

Roland is so Awesome man

[@michaelthomas2528]

This content is incredible. One thing that I think is understated here. The model he developed for the payoff of doing crime (cost benefit analysis) is likely brilliant, but it assumes doing crime as a single discrete event. When looked at would you roll a 95% heads and 5% tails you'd maybe take your chances once. However, if you roll that dice 100 times you'd expect 5 losses. Many don't understand the cumulative probability across many engagements increases towards 100%. They underweight their costs mentally. Brilliant content.

[@jellyrcw12]

Amazing lecture. Thank you for sharing

[@JJKasper]

hey u austin, zoom in on or share the PPT slides in the future please...

[@primms541]

Agree. I’d like to see the equations he was referring to.

[@SamtheIrishexan]

I believe he has his paper on the research available for free online due to its importance didnt paywall it.

[@josephinemesletzky-fi5uc]

Just great! Sieh I Wish I could be a Student in that class. Auch a great scientist!

[@michaeltorrisi7289]

Right? I could listen to Prof. Fryer all day. He's probably the greatest thinker of our day.

[@mercedespombo5768]

Thank you

[@DeltaTango-r5i]

Amazing content, thanks for sharing.

[@dmgibson555]

We need more of debates like this.

[@remylebeau5212]

Did anyone else notice the water bottles change or is it me?😂Great Lecture looking forward to more.Had to watch certain parts a few times to grasp them but thats usually a good indicator of new useful information 😅

[@dionwall5519]

His education work needs to be the basis for K-12 reform.

[@logicking3765]

I can totally see Thomas Sowell in Roland. Thomas Sowell is making the exact same argument in a lot of his books that racial discrimination is a lie when it comes to loan default, or contraband search.

[@BlackAmerica1st]

We have data that shows racial discrimination in loans actually more data is kept when giving someone a loan or buying a house than in policing. So I don’t think he would do something like that. Because racial discrimination is something that can be shown a lot easier in something like loans or housing compared to crime stats. My other issue is are people being truthful when this data is complied.

[@darthbrooks4933]

@@BlackAmerica1stnah, there is no racial discrimination in loans, it’s based on their credit and black people have statistically worse credit. Lol, it’s real simple

[@darthbrooks4933]

@@BlackAmerica1stdoes the fact that black people, being 13% of the pop, committing 75% of all murders and 50% of all violent crime have something to do with it?

[@derp8575]

@@BlackAmerica1st Might that "discrimination" have to do with an unwillingness to repay loans, rather than merely skin color? I swear y'all never stop the victim train. No matter how many Sowells and Fryer's we have, y'all still refuse to surrender the grift.

[@why-mope]

Wow, this is so insightful and productive! Disparity in actions/outcomes comes with diversity and differences in ideas, and that is OK. Trying to equalize outcomes without proving bias is someone's political agenda at taking away people's agency

[@MrBoxhead19]

Why crime rate is going down while incarceration goes up? As we put criminals away, there are lesser and lesser criminals, therefore, we have lesser crimes.

[@nicoleandalfonso6355]

Buying real estate in Austin because a great institution will be born

[@jakubjodlowski8416]

Good call!

[@Botkillah]

Smart forward thinking

[@Star-hg1kt]

How many decades do you give it, before the left takeover?

[@JohnDorian-j7x]

Bruh... do you know nothing about Austin??? Waaayyyyyyy too late to take advantage of that "great institution" being born as a reason. UT Austin is already probably a top 10 University in the world... and that doesn't even consider the plethora of "actual" reasons why Austin real estate is already sky high...and its only gonna get worse

[@fcukyou2_]

It's a little late, prices already thru the roof.

[@Ostsol]

This reminds me of a story a co-worker told me. When he lived in Alabama he once drove a black co-worker home in the middle of the day so he could get something he needed for work. My co-worker is white and police approached him, asking him what business he had in the neighbourhood, which was predominantly black. He explained things and all was well, though the police added that they found that most white people who go into that neighbourhood are trying to buy drugs. The one white person the police saw, they questioned, because they'd historically found a high probability of discovering criminal behaviour. One can say this is racial profiling, but when it frequently returns positively, it becomes quite rational and warranted.

[@janetgrahamtheberge4772]

That was a VERY enlightening discourse. I would love to hear more! THANK you for making this class public.

[@NanoMarrano2025]

You got Prof. Ryer guys!!! 😮 I see you don’t mess around when it comes to recruitment. Soon you will have an Avengers-level staff! 😎

[@primms541]

What’s not discussed here is the understanding of human behavior assessments that really good and professional cops do to discover contraband or criminal activity. It transcends race and culture. That’s the missing piece for many officers in having higher success rates of encountering the problems we want them to address. Cops who focus on behaviors will have much more success than if they focused on just the economics presented here. That said, this is an incredibly important discussion here to understand policing.

[@lloydgush]

His students are freaking brilliant!

[@brianblinstrup8137]

Great man!!

[@ianroskam5131]

Roland Fryer and Michael Shellenberger need to talk. Michael presented the incarceration rate graph on top of the institutionalization rate. Mentally ill people that were institutionalized were released to the streets and the incarceration rate increased.