Community Policing: An Exploration of African-American Youth Perceptions

Introduction

Police brutality towards African-American men, predominantly youth between the ages of 10 and 24, have frequented news reports in the recent years. Human rights protests have developed in urban cities, such as Chicago. For example, the death of sixteen-year-old Laquan McDonald, who shot by a police officer while unarmed in his community. This instance, along with others, have caused a growth in the tension between minority communities and law enforcement officers. Recently, there appears to be a racial variable implied whenever an African-American community-policing debate occurs.

Researchers have conducted studies and have examined the different interactions between police officers and minority groups, however, few have examined the perceptions of youth as subjects and how these issues could be improved. Community policing or patrolling remains to be one of the most popular and common ways that police departments try to build relationships among communities while trying to solve issues, such as crime, within their jurisdictions. However, building positive relationships is far from what departments are doing in urban and impoverished minority communities.

This literature review strives to frame an understanding of the African-American youth relations and perceptions of the police, in particular in community-oriented police practices.

Background, Rationale and Significance

Deep-rooted, tension among the African-American community and police officers has transpired since well before the civil rights era. This relationship stems from a history of hostility and distrust. Actions of law enforcement officers can heavily impact the perceptions of citizens and effect relations between youth in urban neighborhoods and the police. In this context, police officers shooting unarmed African-American male youth leads minority communities to have negative images and thoughts of the police.

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From this, it is hard for them to imagine police being on their side and advocating for these communities. Perceptions of police officers vary between minorities and Whites and the reasons can be complex. Feelings of doubt, hatred, and miscommunication between African-American’s and police officers has been problematic for generations, however, these problems must be addressed if there is ever hope for more support from police. In regard to youth populations, the negative police conduct relates to a loss of respect for law enforcement officers, which resulted in feelings of hostility.

This literature review aims to examine the above noted focus of African-American youth, along with other racial groups, to compare the different perceptions on community-oriented policing practices. Understanding this topic is essential for law enforcement agencies if they wish to bridge the gap between the communities in which they serve, especially those underrepresented. African-American youth, compared to White youth, tend to be less satisfied with many methods of policing and report being treated more severely than other juveniles for comparable offenses. A noteworthy gap in the research is that while African-American men’s perceptions on law enforcement interactions have been studied often, minority male youths has not. Then, little research has examined police encounters from the view point of those suspected and stopped by the police. Limited research has been dedicated to understanding the dynamics of encounters between youth and police officers as a whole. Community policing was put into place to build better relationships among police and youth in neighborhoods, cities and other jurisdictions they serve. With this being said, it is crucial that minority youths’ perceptions are examined in the context of community policing practices.

The literature implies to audiences that policing programs are aimed towards more community involvement, which in turn acquires higher levels of trust and communication between officers and group members in which they serve. However, community policing is not the only factor that impacts an African-American male youth’s perception on law enforcement. The amounts of police contact and quality of policing in neighborhoods is other ways that influence perceptions. Further, impoverished minority communities, particularly in urban areas, have higher crime rates, which in turn causes fear and distrust among juvenile residents. Over time, this can decrease their support of law enforcement officers’ efforts in preventing crime. It is important to evaluate the variables the impact African-American youths’ perceptions of community policing because of their frequent contact with officers due to their disproportionate involvement in law breaking and their greater presence on the streets, which amplifies accessibility to the police and translates into disempowerment. It is evident that age and race make a difference when determining perceptions of community policing practices. “Minority youth in the United States are more likely than Whites to be viewed with suspicion and stopped by police”.

Literature Review

Research on African-American male youth perceptions of police practices has emerged over the last several decades as police brutality and shootings has dramatically increased amongst urban and impoverished minority communities. If the duties of police officers are to protect citizens from crime or harm, that must also include making them feel safer in their neighborhoods. However, this is not so amongst African-American’s, particularly juveniles. This literature review primarily consists of studies on police relations with juvenile Black men in the United States, on average over the last fifteen years. For this, I focused the research on youth ages 12-24. Majority of the studies are qualitative approaches conducted through surveys and interviews. Although this topic is of growing concern, research and studies involving youth as subjects to police interactions are limited. So as to contextualize, the literature also includes research on juvenile’s perspective based on personal experiences with police. Additionally, the focus area is on individuals from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds and from various neighborhood types.

The review of literature begins with a defining what community-oriented policing practices are and what they look like as they are executed in the field. This is followed by an examination of the factors that influence police-youth interactions and whether community members view it as an effective method of policing. While contact types can vary significantly, common factors include legal and extra-legal factors and attitudes and perceptions of law enforcement and youth. Additionally, even though African-American youths report conflicting evidence regarding fear of crime and rates of crime victimization versus their counterparts, they do report being more likely to be the target of disrespect, humiliation, and physical violence by police. With this, the literature will also examine the use of force and the influence racial identity can have on African-American youths’ perceptions of community-oriented police programs. Finally, the review will strive to identify effective practices and policies that law enforcement agencies have put into place to lessen negative encounters with youth in targeted communities.

Defining Community-Oriented Policing and Its Effectiveness

As we are seeing more reports on police contact with minority youth, it is important to define or put structure around the term community-oriented policing as it can be broad. There is no simple way to populate a concrete definition of community policing and one could even deem the term being loaded. There is agreement in that the goal is to improve residents’ sense of satisfaction while increasing their feelings of safety. Community policing has also been described as an organizational strategy that involves law enforcement to prevention to reduce fear of crime. The concept of community policing began with increased police contact and community related programs. For example, the implementation of policing or patrolling on foot. The reason for its application was to address the failure of professional policing approaches, which did not incorporate proactive methods. The main objective was to impact communities and neighborhoods crime levels, and the resident’s perception of police performances.

The growth in community policing occurred during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. After decades of adoption in local law enforcement agencies, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 passed, which authorized $8.8 billion in federal aid and support for community policing practices. The increase of funding and recognition occurred because of the success stories that led to an explosion of its implementation. However, as will be discussed below, the new norm of community policing initiatives caused for police departments to be structured differently. With this, came the application of new practices across jurisdictions and community policing means different things to different people.

In minority neighborhoods, the ideas of African Americans and police officers working together to better their communities seem ideal, however, it is not the reality for these types of interactions. In fact, some research found that this method is ineffective because of the officer’s intrusiveness and lack of commitment to make these communities safer. A heavy divide between the two is easily formed from these interactions. There is often significant opposition to community policing from residents, particularly in high-crime neighborhoods in the distrust, which makes community programs ineffective. This demonstrates a weakness in the programs that police departments are implementing. Due to this, it is essential for departments to examine person perceptions of community-oriented policing programs. Studies have found that 16-24-year-olds who identify as a mixed-race or African-American display lower levels of trust in police. Overall, there is no confidence in police officers from minority community residences, particularly youth, which is the potential reasons for lack of support in community practices.

Minority Youths Perspectives and Involvements with Police

With this style of policing, how officers exercise their authority can impact youths’ perceptions of them. Ethnic minority, communities face discrimination and are more likely to experience marginalization from many aspects of society, including all stages of the criminal justice system, where there is clearly over-representation of African-American young men. When there is greater surveillance on minority neighborhoods, youths are more likely to be targeted and have more frequent encounters with law enforcement officers. One of the biggest challenge’s minority youth face during interactions with police is the disposition they receive. Compared to other youths, African-Americans whose appearance matched a delinquent stereotype were not only more frequently stopped by patrolmen but were usually given more severe disposition. The use of force during police officers’ interactions is a troubling issue that minority communities are faced with. One could argue that force is always a possibility whenever there are civilian and police encounters, however, research demonstrates the racial motive behind these types of incidents.

Racial identity is a common factor when shaping interactions with police. There are different explanations as to why officers use force during community-oriented police stops with minority youth. For example, the use of force as a method of coercion to control the rise of minority populations. This type of relationship is referred to as the Minority Threat Hypothesis. It implies that force is used as a way of social control for the majority racial community. This could be an important piece when examining the factors between police shootings and police perceptions of young male African-American citizens as a whole. Several other researchers take a similar stance in noting that level of punitiveness from police officers is influenced by discrimination. This theory does present a plausible explanation of why officers are more willing to use force against minority communities, which in turn negatively affects residents’ perceptions of community-oriented police practices.

It is no revelation that police actions in disadvantaged urban communities are different from those operating in middle- or upper-class neighborhoods. African-American, youths who were interviewed in the research believed that the police besieged their communities because officers assumed that many of those living there, particularly the youth black men, were criminally involved. In addition to this, Brunson and Miller also found that young men’s complaints of aggressive and discourteous treatment during routine encounters illustrate that it is not who is policed, but how they are policed in marginalized neighborhoods. These encounters have increased in the recent years with the implementation of community policing and an increase in proactive policing strategies. Due to this, African-American youth are the targets of routine harassment. Many testified being stopped many times per day. Several African-American youth reported being routinely stopped in situations in which they believed was no basis for suspicion. When such encounters occurred, the African-American felt like they could not speak up for themselves and were provoked compared to their White peers. Respondents, both Black and White youth, argued that police spoke harshly and used demeaning and offensive language towards African-Americans. When police use these tactics, it can lead to aggression and physical abuse.

While most involuntary police contacts do not result in any serious physical harm, young African-American men are more commonly victims to police brutality. The young men reported often being associated with some type of bodily contact, which include but are not limited to, rifling through pockets and forcible restraining. Subjects also described an increase of police using force when they were caught in illegal activities. Officers are more likely to threaten young African-American men as a strategy in attempt to gain compliance, which ranged from verbal threats to arrests without any physical evidence. Several young men reported that when officers lacked evidence, they would abandon them in dangerous and unfamiliar areas throughout cities. Corruption and racially biased policing are also more likely to occur in poor minority communities. Although these might not be a form of physical abuse, both can be considered abuse of power. Youth in these neighborhoods referred to their communities as being plagued by crooked cops.

Community-Based Policing Programs: Can They be Respectful?

Over the years, there have been an abundance of police training programs which focus specifically on interactions between law enforcement officers and youth. In Chicago specifically, the police department implemented a community policing program called Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Project due to the increase of juvenile gang activity. This program was designed to reduce violence in gang-ridden neighborhood referred to as Little Village. Numerous law enforcement and community stakeholders were involved in implementation. For example, police officers would confirm particular youth to be targeted and they were connected with community workers to establish program relationships. The main goal of GVRP was to reduce the high levels of gang violence at both the individual level and community level. The foundation of GVRP followed a Comprehensive Gang Model. According to Spergel and colleagues, the core elements of this model are: community mobilization, social intervention, provision of social opportunities, suppression, and development of local agencies and groups. In regard to youth involvement and results, the program showed a decline in youth arrests for crimes. In the data obtained from the study, the project produced striking success and has had national recognition through the U.S. Department of Justice to reduce youth gang problems.

In 1994, New York Police Department implemented a new approach to policing after a rise in crime and citizen complaints of misconduct. For the first time, precinct commanders were given the responsibility to reduce crime levels within their jurisdiction. The community-based policy that many precincts put into place was referred to as Courtesy, Professionalism, and Respect. This policy mandated training for new and veteran officers to encourage a better understanding between officers and community members. What this policy did was hold police officers accountable for their targeting actions towards minority communities by monitoring citizen complaints for things such as harassment and aggression. In the CPR policy manual, when officers receive complaints they are put on a list, which is reviewed by city management divisions, and are required to meet with commanders to detail preventative actions. Police officers remain on this list for a specific amount of time or once assignments or command disciplines and an evaluation is completed. The adoption of the CPR policy by NYPD supported a citywide reduction of crime and complaints. The changes observed in New York, consistent with the idea that the misconduct reduction must focus on an organizational change in police departments. This supports the evidence that there is a positive correlation in police injustices, aggressive behavior and moral disengagements among targeted youth.

Conclusion

The purpose of this literature review was to provide an insight on the impact of community-orient police practices in minority neighborhoods, in particular, the effect on young African-American males. As outlined above, some elements, along with positive outcomes, are what make community policing initiatives effective. However, this comes at the expense of another individual’s wellbeing. That being the African-Americans who live in impoverished, minority, primarily urban neighborhoods. Although it can provide reductions in crime and an increase in residents quality of life, a significant body of evidence from decades of research and experience proves that this is only true in White, middle- and upper-class communities. In order for community-oriented policing to be successful it needs to become a reality in practice and not just principle. With this being said, law enforcement agencies and officers need to make sure that resolutions are aligned with reality and that the best practices are infused into the idea of public safety for all community members, regardless of racial identity and neighborhood type.