More Threatened Than Safe: What African, Caribbean, and Black Youth Living In Southern Ontario Say About Their Interactions with Law Enforcement.


Abstract


This study investigates the perspectives of African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) youth living in Windsor, Ontario regarding their interactions with police. Twelve ACB youth were recruited using various methods through the Promoting and Owning Empowerment and Resilience among African, Caribbean, and Black Youth in Windsor (POWER) project to take part in focus group interviews. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a thematic analysis in NVIVO 10 software. Themes included a belief that police have positive effects on society, and that only a certain minority of officers are responsible for misconduct; many interactions with youth are not the fault of the officer(s) involved and that police institutions play an important role in society. However, youth also expressed reasons for their displeasure with these institutions, such as: the lack of diversity within the police force, and that police sometimes abuse power and can be aggressive. Moreover, police have obstructed justice, profiled, and treated ACB people differently, according to participants. These results come at a time when community advocacy groups, such as Black Lives Matter, are mobilizing to improve the experiences of African diasporic people in Canadian society.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i24212113v4i2p101

Keywords: African Black and Caribbean Canadians; Black Lives Matter; Police Discrimination; Profiling; Criminal Justice System

References


Abbey-Lambertz, K. (2015, February 13). 15 Black Women Whose Lives Mattered, Too. Huffington Canada. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/13/black-womens-lives-matter-police-shootings_n_6644276.html

About. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2017, from http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

Balko, R. (2014, November 18). As Ferguson waits, some lessons from the Rodney King riots. Retrieved July 15, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/11/18/as-ferguson-waits-some-lessons-from-the-rodney-king-riots/

Bassett, M. T. (2016). Beyond Berets: The Black Panthers as Health Activists. American Journal of Public Health, 106(10), 1741–1743. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303412

Block, S., & Galabuzi, G.-E. (2011). CANADA’S COLOUR CODED LABOUR MARKET: The gap for racialized workers. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, The Wellesley Institute. Retrieved from http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Colour_Coded_Labour_MarketFINAL.pdf

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Brooks, D. A. (2016, March 13). How #BlackLivesMatter started a musical revolution. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/13/black-lives-matter-beyonce-kendrick-lamar-protest

Brown, T. N., Williams, D. R., Jackson, J. S., Neighbors, H. W., Torres, M., Sellers, S. L., & Brown, K. T. (2000). “Being black and feeling blue”: the mental health consequences of racial discrimination. Race and Society, 2(2), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-9524(00)00010-3

Brunson, R. K., & Weitzer, R. (2009). Police Relations with Black and White Youths in Different Urban Neighborhoods. Urban Affairs Review, 44(6), 858–885. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087408326973

Buchanan, N. T., & Ormerod, A. J. (2002). Racialized Sexual

Harassment in the Lives of African American Women. Women & Therapy, 25(3–4), 107–124.

https://doi.org/10.1300/J015v25n03_08

Cao, L. (2011). Visible Minorities and Confidence in the Police 1. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 53(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.53.1.1

Cleaver, K., & Katsiaficas, G. (2001). Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Black Panthers and Their Legacy (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.ca/books/about/Liberation_Imagination_and_the_Black_Pan.html?id=KFk4bHPFN5AC&redir_esc=y

Colley, S. B. (2016, December 20). Nova Scotia black history course a first in Dal’s 198-year history. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/dalhousie-university-black-history-nova-scotia-1.3905078

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Race, Gender, and Sexual Harassment

Gender, Race, and the Politics of Supreme Court Appointments: The Import of the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas Hearings: Anita Hill One Month Later: Remarks Before the National Forum for Women State Legislators. Southern California Law Review, 65, 1467–1476.

Dahl, J. (2013, July 12). Trayvon Martin shooting: A timeline of events [News website]. Retrieved February 24, 2017, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trayvon-martin-shooting-a-timeline-of-events/

Dart, T. (2015, July 18). “What happened to Sandy?”: protesters tie Sandra Bland case to US race tensions. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/17/sandra-bland-texas-protest-racial-tensions

Donovan, R., & Williams, M. W. (2002). Living at the Intersection. Women & Therapy, 25(3–4), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.1300/J015v25n03_07

Felkenes, G. T., & Schroedel, J. R. (1993). A Case Study of Minority Women in Policing. Women & Criminal Justice, 4(2), 65–89. https://doi.org/10.1300/J012v04n02_05

Fitzgerald, R. T., & Carrington, P. J. (2011). Disproportionate Minority Contact in Canada: Police and Visible Minority Youth. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 53(4), 449–486. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.53.4.449

Geller, A., Fagan, J., Tyler, T., & Link, B. G. (2014). Aggressive Policing and the Mental Health of Young Urban Men. American Journal of Public Health, 104(12), 2321–2327. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302046

Gollom, M. (2016, July 5). “They overplayed their hand”: Experts weigh in on Black Lives Matter’s Pride protest. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/black-lives-matter-toronto-pride-parade-1.3663659

Government of Canada, S. C. (2014). Youth crime in Canada, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2017, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2016001/article/14309-eng.htm

Grewal, S., Ranskin, J., & Winsa, P. (2015, October 23). Random or arbitrary police carding will stop, province says | Toronto Star. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/10/23/random-or-arbitrary-police-carding-will-stop-province-says.html

Guynn, J. (2015, March 5). Meet the woman who coined #BlackLivesMatter. USA Today. Retrieved from http://srogers.carto.com/viz/3ecef0b4-7cae-11e4-8bbb-0e9d821ea90d/embed_map

Hayle, S., Wortley, S., & Tanner, J. (2016). Race, Street Life, and Policing: Implications for Racial Profiling. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 58(3), 322–353. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2014.E32

Hope, L. (2017, February 17). Emmett Till’s family calls for Justice Department to reopen murder case. ABC7 Eyewitness News. Retrieved from http://abc7chicago.com/1760441/

Janus, S. S., Janus, C., Lord, L. K., & Power, T. (1988). Women in Police Work - Annie Oakley or Little Orphan Annie. Police Studies: The International Review of Police Development, 11, 124.

Kerr, J., & Jackson, T. (2016). Stigma, sexual risks, and the war on drugs: Examining drug policy and HIV/AIDS inequities among African Americans using the Drug War HIV/AIDS Inequities Model. International Journal of Drug Policy, 37, 31–41.

Marcoux, J., Nicholson, K., Kubinec, V.-L., & Moore, H. (2016, July 14). CBC Investigates: Police diversity fails to keep pace with Canadian populations. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/police-diversity-canada-1.3677952

Miller, A. (2016, November 17). New carding rules approved by Toronto police board, historic data will still be retained. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/3073439/new-carding-rules-approved-by-toronto-police-services-board-will-retain-old-data/

Morgan, A. (2016, March 24). Ontario chooses band-aid instead of banning carding. African Canadian Legal Clinic. Retrieved from http://ocasi.org/sites/default/files/ACLC_Press_Release_Carding_Regulations_A_Band_Aid_March_24_2016_0.pdf

Moyer, J. (2014, August 18). Autopsy: Michael Brown shot six times, twice in the head. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/18/autopsy-michael-brown-shot-six-times-twice-in-the-head/

Paradkar, S. (2017, May 5). The Yonge St. riot of 1992 … or was it an uprising?: Paradkar. The Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/05/the-yonge-street-riot-of-1992-or-was-it-an-uprising-paradkar.html

Pascoe, E. A., & Smart Richman, L. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 531–554. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016059

Peirone, A., Maticka-Tyndale, E., Gbadebo, K., & Kerr, J. (2017). The Social Environment of Daily Life and Perceptions of Police and/or Court Discrimination among African, Caribbean, and Black Youth. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 59(3), 346–372. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.2017.0003

Quillian, L., & Pager, D. (2001). Black Neighbors, Higher Crime? The Role of Racial Stereotypes in Evaluations of Neighborhood Crime. American Journal of Sociology, 107(3), 717–767. https://doi.org/10.1086/338938

Ragged. (n.d.). Miriam-Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragged

Rankin, J. (2015, May 26). How the cards have played out since 1957. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/05/26/how-the-cards-have-played-out-since-1957.html

Roberts, D. E. (2007). Constructing a Criminal Justice System Free of Racial Bias: An Abolitionist Framework. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 39, 261.

Smiley, D. (2015, May 16). McDuffie riots: revisiting, retelling story — 35 years later. Miami Herald. Retrieved from http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article21178995.html

Smith, B. W., & Holmes, M. D. (2014). Police Use of Excessive Force in Minority Communities: A Test of the Minority Threat, Place, and Community Accountability Hypotheses. Social Problems, 61(1), 83–104. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2013.12056

Stenning, P. C. (2004). Policing the Cultural Kaleidoscope: Recent Canadian Experience. The Canadian Review of Policing Research, 1(0). Retrieved from http://crpr.icaap.org/index.php/crpr/article/view/27

Stewart, E. A., Baumer, E. P., Brunson, R. K., & Simons, R. L. (2009). Neighborhood Racial Context and Perceptions of Police-Based Racial Discrimination Among Black Youth*. Criminology, 47(3), 847–887. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00159.x

Texeira, M. T. (2002). “Who Protects and Serves Me?” A Case Study of Sexual Harassment of African American Women in One U.S. Law Enforcement Agency. Gender & Society, 16(4), 524–545. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243202016004007

The Movement For Black Lives. (n.d.). A Vision For Black Lives: Policy Dmeands For Black Power, Freedom, & Justice. The Movement For Black Lives. Retrieved from https://policy.m4bl.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160726-m4bl-Vision-Booklet-V3.pdf

Turner, K. B., Giacopassi, D., & Vandiver, M. (2006). Ignoring the Past: Coverage of Slavery and Slave Patrols in Criminal Justice Texts. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 17(1), 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511250500335627

Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2004). Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct. Social Problems, 51(3), 305–325. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2004.51.3.305

Winsa, P. (2011, March 24). ‘Fearless’ black activist Dudley Laws dies at age 76. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/03/24/fearless_black_activist_dudley_laws_dies_at_age_76.html

Wortley, S., & Marshall, L. (2005). Bias Free Policing: The Kingston Data Collection Project Final Results. Retrieved from http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/handle/1974/8655

Wortley, S., & Owusu-Bempah, A. (2011). The usual suspects: police stop and search practices in Canada. Policing and Society, 21(4), 395–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2011.610198

Yoder, J. D., & Aniakudo, P. (1995). The responses of African American women firefighters to gender harassment at work. Sex Roles, 32(3–4), 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01544784


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
کاغذ a4
Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.