The Rules of (Dis)engagement

Black Youth and Their Strategies for Navigating Police Contact

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12136124
AutoresBrittany N Fox-Williams (0000-0002-5808-7423, Columbia University, autor correspondente), Brittany N Fox‐Williams (Department of Sociology Columbia University 606 West 122nd Street New York New York 10027)
Ano2018
Volume34
Fascículo1
Páginas115-137
Data de publicação2018-12-13
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSociological Forum (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0884-8971 • E-ISSN: 1573-7861
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/socf.12484
OpenAlexW2905228274
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas13
Referências citadas44

Prior work on youth–police relations examines young people's general perceptions of the police, their differential treatment by police officers, and officers' discretion in dealing with youth. Yet researchers have largely neglected the question of how young people attempt to shape these encounters. I address this critical gap, while also incorporating the experiences of “on track” youth and young women—two groups that are not exempt from police contact but traditionally ignored in the youth–police literature. Drawing on semistructured group and individual interviews with 19 black young people in New York City, I investigate the strategies they employ or subscribe to in navigating police contact. Three types of strategies emerged from my analysis: avoidance, management, and symbolic resistance. Avoidance strategies are marked by young people's attempts to preemptively steer clear of officers on the street. Management strategies are employed by young people during police encounters to limit risk or harm, while symbolic resistance is a subtle tactic used by some youth to preserve their dignity in these interactions. This study also considers the gender differences in respondents' approaches and offers new insights into how they assess their police interactions in an era of highly publicized incidents of police brutality

Criminology · Dignity · Discretion · Harm · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Psychology · Social Psychology