Sacrificed on the Altar of Public Safety: The Policing of Latino and African American Youth

Abstract

Past research has grounded young people’s experiences with the police in their neighborhoods and schools, yet lacking from the literature is how the interconnection between these two domains contributes to the hypercriminalization of Latino and African American youth. Forty interviews were conducted with nondelinquent Latino and African American youth who reside in disadvantaged and high-crime neighborhoods. Youths’ reports suggest a tidal wave of violence throughout their neighborhoods and schools, coupled with heavy surveillance and policing. Policy implications are discussed in terms of the school to criminal justice pipeline prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Experiences of Central California Latino Male Youth: Recollecting Despair and Success inBarriosand Schools

“…Second, safety can be characterized as multifaceted and inclusive of a host of indicators related to exposure to violence and neglect (e.g., rates in foster care, juvenile felony arrest, and police profiling of Latino youth; Davis et al, 2009;Rios, 2011;Sanchez & Adams, 2011;Tapia, 2011). Addressing safety (like health) also requires an understanding of socioeconomic and community factors, as well as ways in which police and school officials profile and criminalize Latino youth.…”

“…The literature on how safety issues affect Latinos, particularly those living in the barrio, has not readily addressed safety as much as what leads to Latino victimization (see Rios, 2010Rios, , 2011Sanchez & Adams, 2011;Tapia, 2011). The underlying themes on safety and victimization of Latino youth include psychological victimization and lack of physical safety, both of which (in)directly affect academic achievement (Portillos et al, 2012;Rios, 2010;Sanchez & Adams, 2011).…”

“…The underlying themes on safety and victimization of Latino youth include psychological victimization and lack of physical safety, both of which (in)directly affect academic achievement (Portillos et al, 2012;Rios, 2010;Sanchez & Adams, 2011). First, psychological victimization occurs when Latino youth in the barrio are exposed to witnessing domestic and other forms of violence, such as shootings (Davis et al, 2009;Romero, 2006).…”

Expanding carceral geographies: challenging mass incarceration and creating a "community orientation" towards juvenile delinquency

“…Scholars have noted that practices of hyper surveillance and incarceration are unevenly experienced across urban areas, and that, often, the majority of prisoners are pulled from just a few neighborhoods (Fagan et al, 2003;Rios, 2011;Roberts, 1999;Vera Sanchez and Adams, 2011). Incarceration also has effects at the neighborhood level often called the "collateral consequences of mass incarceration".…”

Is perception of the mainstream legal system homogeneous across ethnic groups?

“…Numerous North American studies have documented that people belonging to ethnic minorities are subject to more surveillance in disadvantaged neighbourhoods (Sanchez & Adams, 2011) and are arrested, convicted, and incarcerated at higher rates than the White majority (Kennedy, 2001;Rocque, 2011;Solis, Portillos, & Brunson, 2009). In fact, statistics show significant ethnic disparity in prison populations (Blumstein, 2001;Johnson, 2007).…”