Race, Street Life, and Policing: Implications for Racial Profiling

Abstract

Scholarship is divided over whether youth from marginalized populations are stopped and searched by police primarily due to their illegal behaviours (functionalism), marginalized status (conflict theory), or both. We address this debate by comparing the police interactions experienced by a sample of high school students (N = 3,393) living at home with a sample of youth (N = 396) who have left home and are residing in shelters or on the streets of Toronto, Ontario. Logistic regression analysis demonstrates that after controlling for demographic and behavioural factors, black high school students are more likely than white high school students to report being stopped and searched by the police multiple times; this indicates that they are the victims of racially biased policing. In contrast, black and white street youth are equally likely to report being stopped and searched by the police on multiple occasions. We suggest that this is because all street youth, regardless of race, take part in high levels of deviant behaviour, which attracts police attention. We conclude that consensus theory is appropriate for explaining police stops and searches of street youth, whereas conflict theory is appropriate for explaining police stops and searches of black high school students.

Examining the Role of Demographics in Campus Crime Alerts

“…Racial profiling, whether implicit or explicit, has been a common practice in American policing, and it arises from stereotypes depicting African Americans as more criminal and dangerous than individuals of other races (Glaser, 2004). This is commonly validated in the exaggerated rate at which African American men are stopped for questioning and arrested when compared to White individuals (Hayle, Wortley, & Tanner, 2014;White, 2014). This targeting of African Americans is multiplied when individuals who appear more ''black'' are a greater target of Black racial stereotypes (Blair, Judd, & Chapleau, 2004), which further increased perceived criminality by police officers (Eberhardt et al, 2004) and can even impact the criminal sentencing of the individual (Blair et al, 2004).…”

Challenging the Myth of Color Blindness in Restorative Justice Programs

“…Past commentators have problematized the experiences of racialized groups in the Canadian justice system (Hayle, Wortley and Tanner 2016;Kwok 2009;LaPrairie 1997;Samuels 2015;Wortley 2003;Wortley and Tanner 2005). Others have evaluated the experiences of immigrant youth and the Canadian justice system (Kwok and Tam 2010;Rossiter and Rossiter 2009) and interactions between racialized immigrant groups and the police (Chu 2008;D'Arcy 2007;Oriola and Adeyanju 2011).…”

Alternative School Discipline Principles and Interventions: An Overview of the Literature

“…Empowerment theory suggests that by increasing the individual, interpersonal, and political power of youth, they can enact positive change in their lives, their immediate families, and their communities (Gutiérrez, 1995). Racialized and marginalized students are overwhelmingly affected by punitive school discipline (Gordon, 2017;Hayle, Wortley & Tanner, 2016;Salole & Abdulle, 2015;Woodbury, 2016). Applying techniques for personal empowerment can assist such students to develop a more positive identity, engage in social action, and contribute to the empowerment of their communities (Hipolito-Delgado & Lee, 2007).…”