A study finds that black and Latino boys who experience police encounters are likely to exhibit later delinquent behaviors, regardless of history of prior delinquency. Proactive policing seeks to place police in areas likely to experience crime with the aim of increasing law enforcement presence and deterring criminal activity. Studies suggest that such strategies may reduce crime, but the effects of proactive policing on youth remain unclear. Juan Del Toro and colleagues followed 645 black and Latino ninth-graders in a city in the southern United States from 2013 to 2015 through a longitudinal survey. The survey questions sought to assess the boys' history of encounters with police, their engagement in delinquent behaviors, and their level of psychological distress. The authors found that boys who were frequently stopped by police were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months later, compared with boys who were not frequently stopped by police. Measures of psychological distress accounted for some of the correlation, supporting theories that tie psychological distress to the development of adolescent criminality. According to the authors, the results suggest that proactive policing may unintentionally lead to adolescents displaying criminal behaviors.
###
Article #18-08976: "The criminogenic and psychological effects of police stops on adolescent black and Latino boys," by Juan Del Toro et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Juan Del Toro, New York University, NY; tel: 510-685-7080; e-mail: <juan.deltoro@nyu.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences