Brooklynn K Hitchens
Biographic Data
| ID | 655187 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brooklynn K Hitchens |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brooklynn K |
| FAMILY NAME | Hitchens |
| SIGNATURE | HITCHENS B K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Maryland, College Park |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1235-2703 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 52 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Respectful, fearful, and trustworthy policing: Assessing street-identified Black men and women’s tangled attitudes toward the police
OBJECTIVE: Although many studies have examined Black Americans', often in comparison with Whites' and other minorities', perceptions of the police, few studies have focused on the experiences and perspectives of street-identified Black women and men. The main objective of this study is to assess street-identified Black populations' attitudes toward the police. HYPOTHESES: Respectful police perceptions are positively linked to trust in the police …
Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR) With Hard-to-Reach Black Women and Girls: Advancing an Intersectional Criminological Approach
This article employs an intersectional criminological approach to examine how street participatory action research (Street PAR) engages marginalized Black women and girls involved in the streets and/or criminal legal system. Research on their offending and victimization presents unique methodological challenges, particularly in accessing racially stigmatized populations participating in illegal activities or facing economic and social precarity. …
Contextualizing Attitudes About Violence from the Vantage Point of Street-Identified Black Male Youth: The Role of the Perceived Neighborhood and Bypassing Adolescence in the Development of Black Masc…
Using Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR), we examined the role of subjective neighborhood quality in bypassing adolescence (through adultification) and pro-violence attitudes among Black male youth. One hundred and thirty-seven street-identified, Black adolescent males (M/SDage = 18.07/1.66) were recruited using snowball sampling through social networks of individuals who identified as “street” or engaged in illegal activity. Respo…
A Model to Assess the Feasibility of 911 Call Diversion Programs
Reforms to deploy civilian responders to non-criminal emergency calls may reduce demands on police departments and reduce negative interactions between police and civilians, but there is presently little empirical evidence on the feasibility of these proposals. We develop a model to evaluate which calls could be transitioned to civilian responders based on their crime risk. We use a rich dataset of community-initiated emergency calls to Baltimore…
Structural barriers explain the link between negative community re‐entry experiences and motives for illegal behavior in street‐identified Black men and women
This study examines how the re‐entry process is related to structural barriers in the community and to motives for engaging in illegal behavior—two key risk factors for recidivism. We analyzed survey data collected on perceptions of community re‐entry, employment opportunities, neighborhood violence, and illegal behavior motives from 379 formerly incarcerated and street‐identified Black‐American community members residing in Wilmington, Delaware …
More than race? Intragroup differences by gender and age in perceptions of police among street-identified Black men and women
OBJECTIVE: Whereas studies have documented racial differences in attitudes toward police between White and Black Americans, relatively little is known about the intragroup, gender-based variations among urban Black residents involved in criminal activity (i.e., street-identified men and women). HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized Black women would be more likely to believe in police legitimacy and positive intent than men (Hypothesis 1), especially among…
Elevations in Blood Pressure Associated with Exposure to Violence are Mitigated by Pro-gun-Carrying Attitudes among Street-Identified Black Males and Females
The cumulative effect of gun homicide-related loss on neighborhood perceptions among street-identified black women and girls: A mixed-methods study
Racial disparities in death indicate that Black women and girls are disproportionately bereaved by violent loss across their lifetime. Yet the context and consequences of this loss remain largely understudied. This study examines the effect of gun homicide-related loss of relative/friends on subjective neighborhood perceptions among street-identified Black women and girls (ages 16 to 54). The study used a convergent mixed-methods design, with sim…
Mothering in the streets: Familial adaptation strategies of street‐identified Black American mothers
Objective: Using components of the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model, Critical Race Feminism, and Sites of Resilience this study explored how street-identified Black American mothers engage in street life, while juggling the pressures of childrearing, family, and home life within a distressed, urban Black community. Background: Street-identified Black American mothers are vilified for their intersecting identities of being Black wom…
Theorizing Embodied Carcerality
Brittany Friedman proposes embodied carcerality as a conceptual tool for understanding the production of carceral subjects through reifying one’s physical representation as indistinguishable from a deviant object in her work on criminal justice imagery. She argues this reification process occurs through a series of interpersonal interactions, where a person’s outward representation (movement, speech, appearance) is perceived as inherently dangero…
Nothing About Us, Without Us
Black feminism is one theoretical framework that fully encompasses the complexity of black womanhood and the dynamic dimensions of black feminist legacies intellectual contributions. In a black feminist tradition, theories of black women should continue to build and affirm womanisms inside and outside of academia. Bringing a method like fabulation or imagination into readings of US enslavement critically remaps and represents black life. Black fe…
The Context for Legal Cynicism: Urban Young Women’s Experiences With Policing in Low-Income, High-Crime Neighborhoods
Research and public discourse on urban policing and the collateral consequences of mass incarceration often center on the experiences of young males, particularly young Black and brown men who live in low-income, high-crime neighborhoods. Consequently, less is known about how young women are policed in these contexts; and whether their experiences and dispositions toward police vary across racial and ethnic groups. Drawing on 70 in-depth intervie…
Girl Fights and the Online Media Construction of Black Female Violence and Sexuality
This article uses content analysis to examine the media construction of violence and sexuality among young Black, White, and Latina women who fight on WorldStarHipHop.com . I explore symbolic themes derived from the construction of violence through physical fighting. Findings suggest overrepresentation of depictions of Black women as perpetrators, specifically with weapon use and amount of physical violence shown. Findings also indicate racial di…
Why I Can't Stand Out in Front of My House?”: Street‐Identified Black Youth and Young Adult's Negative Encounters With Police
This street participatory action research (Street PAR ) study organized 15 residents to document street‐identified Black youth and adult's negative experiences with police in Wilmington, Delaware. Data were collected on mostly street‐identified Black men and women aged 18–35 in the forms of (1) 520 surveys, (2) 24 individual interviews, (3) four dual interviews, (4) three group interviews, and (5) extensive field observations. Forty‐two percent o…
Contextualizing Police Use of Force and Black Vulnerability: A Response to Whitesel
Whitesel ( ) argues that racialized stereotypes about black bodies were used as foundations for the killing and subsequent character assassinations of Eleanor Bumpurs and Eric Garner. In response to Whitesel, I offer several points to expand on the arguments raised, as well as some critiques that should enhance future research on policing and state‐sanctioned violence
Brenda's Got a Baby: Black Single Motherhood and Street Life as a Site of Resilience in Wilmington, Delaware
This secondary analysis examines low-income, street-identified single Black mothers aged 18 to 35 years in Wilmington, Delaware. This study is guided by the following question: To what extent do family composition and criminal record/street activity shape notions of Black single motherhood? "Sites of resilience" theory informs this study by providing a reconceptualization of street life and the phenomenological experiences of street-identified Bl…
Why I Can't Stand Out in Front of My House?”: Street‐Identified Black Youth and Young Adult's Negative Encounters With Police
This street participatory action research (Street PAR ) study organized 15 residents to document street‐identified Black youth and adult's negative experiences with police in Wilmington, Delaware. Data were collected on mostly street‐identified Black men and women aged 18–35 in the forms of (1) 520 surveys, (2) 24 individual interviews, (3) four dual interviews, (4) three group interviews, and (5) extensive field observations. Forty‐two percent o…
The Context for Legal Cynicism: Urban Young Women’s Experiences With Policing in Low-Income, High-Crime Neighborhoods
Research and public discourse on urban policing and the collateral consequences of mass incarceration often center on the experiences of young males, particularly young Black and brown men who live in low-income, high-crime neighborhoods. Consequently, less is known about how young women are policed in these contexts; and whether their experiences and dispositions toward police vary across racial and ethnic groups. Drawing on 70 in-depth intervie…
The cumulative effect of gun homicide-related loss on neighborhood perceptions among street-identified black women and girls: A mixed-methods study
Racial disparities in death indicate that Black women and girls are disproportionately bereaved by violent loss across their lifetime. Yet the context and consequences of this loss remain largely understudied. This study examines the effect of gun homicide-related loss of relative/friends on subjective neighborhood perceptions among street-identified Black women and girls (ages 16 to 54). The study used a convergent mixed-methods design, with sim…
Brenda's Got a Baby: Black Single Motherhood and Street Life as a Site of Resilience in Wilmington, Delaware
This secondary analysis examines low-income, street-identified single Black mothers aged 18 to 35 years in Wilmington, Delaware. This study is guided by the following question: To what extent do family composition and criminal record/street activity shape notions of Black single motherhood? "Sites of resilience" theory informs this study by providing a reconceptualization of street life and the phenomenological experiences of street-identified Bl…
Contextualizing Police Use of Force and Black Vulnerability: A Response to Whitesel
Whitesel ( ) argues that racialized stereotypes about black bodies were used as foundations for the killing and subsequent character assassinations of Eleanor Bumpurs and Eric Garner. In response to Whitesel, I offer several points to expand on the arguments raised, as well as some critiques that should enhance future research on policing and state‐sanctioned violence
Structural barriers explain the link between negative community re‐entry experiences and motives for illegal behavior in street‐identified Black men and women
This study examines how the re‐entry process is related to structural barriers in the community and to motives for engaging in illegal behavior—two key risk factors for recidivism. We analyzed survey data collected on perceptions of community re‐entry, employment opportunities, neighborhood violence, and illegal behavior motives from 379 formerly incarcerated and street‐identified Black‐American community members residing in Wilmington, Delaware …
Elevations in Blood Pressure Associated with Exposure to Violence are Mitigated by Pro-gun-Carrying Attitudes among Street-Identified Black Males and Females
Girl Fights and the Online Media Construction of Black Female Violence and Sexuality
This article uses content analysis to examine the media construction of violence and sexuality among young Black, White, and Latina women who fight on WorldStarHipHop.com . I explore symbolic themes derived from the construction of violence through physical fighting. Findings suggest overrepresentation of depictions of Black women as perpetrators, specifically with weapon use and amount of physical violence shown. Findings also indicate racial di…
Why I Can't Stand Out in Front of My House?”: Street‐Identified Black Youth and Young Adult's Negative Encounters With Police
This street participatory action research (Street PAR ) study organized 15 residents to document street‐identified Black youth and adult's negative experiences with police in Wilmington, Delaware. Data were collected on mostly street‐identified Black men and women aged 18–35 in the forms of (1) 520 surveys, (2) 24 individual interviews, (3) four dual interviews, (4) three group interviews, and (5) extensive field observations. Forty‐two percent o…
Contextualizing Police Use of Force and Black Vulnerability: A Response to Whitesel
Whitesel ( ) argues that racialized stereotypes about black bodies were used as foundations for the killing and subsequent character assassinations of Eleanor Bumpurs and Eric Garner. In response to Whitesel, I offer several points to expand on the arguments raised, as well as some critiques that should enhance future research on policing and state‐sanctioned violence
Brenda's Got a Baby: Black Single Motherhood and Street Life as a Site of Resilience in Wilmington, Delaware
This secondary analysis examines low-income, street-identified single Black mothers aged 18 to 35 years in Wilmington, Delaware. This study is guided by the following question: To what extent do family composition and criminal record/street activity shape notions of Black single motherhood? "Sites of resilience" theory informs this study by providing a reconceptualization of street life and the phenomenological experiences of street-identified Bl…
The Context for Legal Cynicism: Urban Young Women’s Experiences With Policing in Low-Income, High-Crime Neighborhoods
Research and public discourse on urban policing and the collateral consequences of mass incarceration often center on the experiences of young males, particularly young Black and brown men who live in low-income, high-crime neighborhoods. Consequently, less is known about how young women are policed in these contexts; and whether their experiences and dispositions toward police vary across racial and ethnic groups. Drawing on 70 in-depth intervie…
Theorizing Embodied Carcerality
Brittany Friedman proposes embodied carcerality as a conceptual tool for understanding the production of carceral subjects through reifying one’s physical representation as indistinguishable from a deviant object in her work on criminal justice imagery. She argues this reification process occurs through a series of interpersonal interactions, where a person’s outward representation (movement, speech, appearance) is perceived as inherently dangero…
Nothing About Us, Without Us
Black feminism is one theoretical framework that fully encompasses the complexity of black womanhood and the dynamic dimensions of black feminist legacies intellectual contributions. In a black feminist tradition, theories of black women should continue to build and affirm womanisms inside and outside of academia. Bringing a method like fabulation or imagination into readings of US enslavement critically remaps and represents black life. Black fe…
Mothering in the streets: Familial adaptation strategies of street‐identified Black American mothers
Objective: Using components of the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model, Critical Race Feminism, and Sites of Resilience this study explored how street-identified Black American mothers engage in street life, while juggling the pressures of childrearing, family, and home life within a distressed, urban Black community. Background: Street-identified Black American mothers are vilified for their intersecting identities of being Black wom…
More than race? Intragroup differences by gender and age in perceptions of police among street-identified Black men and women
OBJECTIVE: Whereas studies have documented racial differences in attitudes toward police between White and Black Americans, relatively little is known about the intragroup, gender-based variations among urban Black residents involved in criminal activity (i.e., street-identified men and women). HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized Black women would be more likely to believe in police legitimacy and positive intent than men (Hypothesis 1), especially among…
Elevations in Blood Pressure Associated with Exposure to Violence are Mitigated by Pro-gun-Carrying Attitudes among Street-Identified Black Males and Females
The cumulative effect of gun homicide-related loss on neighborhood perceptions among street-identified black women and girls: A mixed-methods study
Racial disparities in death indicate that Black women and girls are disproportionately bereaved by violent loss across their lifetime. Yet the context and consequences of this loss remain largely understudied. This study examines the effect of gun homicide-related loss of relative/friends on subjective neighborhood perceptions among street-identified Black women and girls (ages 16 to 54). The study used a convergent mixed-methods design, with sim…
A Model to Assess the Feasibility of 911 Call Diversion Programs
Reforms to deploy civilian responders to non-criminal emergency calls may reduce demands on police departments and reduce negative interactions between police and civilians, but there is presently little empirical evidence on the feasibility of these proposals. We develop a model to evaluate which calls could be transitioned to civilian responders based on their crime risk. We use a rich dataset of community-initiated emergency calls to Baltimore…
Structural barriers explain the link between negative community re‐entry experiences and motives for illegal behavior in street‐identified Black men and women
This study examines how the re‐entry process is related to structural barriers in the community and to motives for engaging in illegal behavior—two key risk factors for recidivism. We analyzed survey data collected on perceptions of community re‐entry, employment opportunities, neighborhood violence, and illegal behavior motives from 379 formerly incarcerated and street‐identified Black‐American community members residing in Wilmington, Delaware …
Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR) With Hard-to-Reach Black Women and Girls: Advancing an Intersectional Criminological Approach
This article employs an intersectional criminological approach to examine how street participatory action research (Street PAR) engages marginalized Black women and girls involved in the streets and/or criminal legal system. Research on their offending and victimization presents unique methodological challenges, particularly in accessing racially stigmatized populations participating in illegal activities or facing economic and social precarity. …
Contextualizing Attitudes About Violence from the Vantage Point of Street-Identified Black Male Youth: The Role of the Perceived Neighborhood and Bypassing Adolescence in the Development of Black Masc…
Using Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR), we examined the role of subjective neighborhood quality in bypassing adolescence (through adultification) and pro-violence attitudes among Black male youth. One hundred and thirty-seven street-identified, Black adolescent males (M/SDage = 18.07/1.66) were recruited using snowball sampling through social networks of individuals who identified as “street” or engaged in illegal activity. Respo…
Respectful, fearful, and trustworthy policing: Assessing street-identified Black men and women’s tangled attitudes toward the police
OBJECTIVE: Although many studies have examined Black Americans', often in comparison with Whites' and other minorities', perceptions of the police, few studies have focused on the experiences and perspectives of street-identified Black women and men. The main objective of this study is to assess street-identified Black populations' attitudes toward the police. HYPOTHESES: Respectful police perceptions are positively linked to trust in the police …
Sociology (12 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Gender Studies (9 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (8 works) · Criminology (8 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (6 works) · Gender Studies (5 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (5 works) · Policing Practices and Perceptions (5 works)