Police Exposures and the Health and Well-being of Black Youth in the US: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Black youth in the US experience disproportionate contact with police even when accounting for criminal or delinquent behavior, which some experts say is fueled by racism and discrimination. While the literature supports the link between racism and adverse health outcomes, less is known about the impact of policing on the well-being of Black youth. Objective: To systematically review the literature describing the association between police exposure and health outcomes for Black youth 26 years and younger. Evidence Review: A search of PubMed, Embase, Criminal Justice Abstracts, PsycInfo, and Web of Science was conducted. Eligible studies included original peer-reviewed research published from 1980 to December 2020, with a participant population of Black youth, a focus on police exposure, and health as the outcome. Additional articles were identified by hand-searching reference lists of included studies. Data extraction was performed, followed by critical appraisal of all included studies using a convergent segregated approach in which quantitative and qualitative studies were synthesized separately followed by an overarching synthesis across methods. Findings: A total of 16 quantitative studies including 19 493 participants were included in the review and demonstrated an association between police exposure and adverse mental health, sexual risk behaviors, and substance use. A total of 13 qualitative studies including 461 participants were included in the review, which corroborated and contextualized the quantitative evidence and provided additional health outcomes, such as fear for life or hopelessness. Conclusions and Relevance: Evidence shows that police exposures are associated with adverse health outcomes for Black youth. Clinicians, scientists, public health practitioners, and policy makers can partner with local governments to enact reforms that mitigate the health impact of policing on youth.

Structural barriers to condom access in a community-based cohort of sex workers in Vancouver, Canada: influence of policing, violence and end-demand criminalisation.

OBJECTIVES: Sex workers (SWs) face a disproportionate burden of HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STIs), violence and other human rights violations. While recent HIV prevention research has largely focused on the HIV cascade, condoms remain a cornerstone of HIV prevention, requiring further research attention. Given serious concerns regarding barriers to condom use, including policing, violence and 'end-demand' sex work criminalisation, we evaluated structural correlates of difficulty accessing condoms among SWs in Vancouver over an 8-year period. METHODS: Baseline and prospective data were drawn from a community-based cohort of women SWs (2010-2018). SWs completed semi-annual questionnaires administered by a team that included lived experience (SWs). Multivariable logistic regression using generalised estimating equations (GEE) modelled correlates of difficulty accessing condoms over time. RESULTS: Among 884 participants, 19.1% reported difficulty accessing condoms during the study. In multivariable GEE analysis, exposure to end-demand legislation was not associated with improved condom access; identifying as a sexual/gender minority (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.62, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.27), servicing outdoors (aOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.97), physical/sexual workplace violence (aOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.44 to 2.72), community violence (aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.52) and police harassment (aOR 1.66, 95% CI 1.24 to 2.24) were associated with enhanced difficulty accessing condoms. CONCLUSIONS: One-fifth of SWs faced challenges accessing condoms, suggesting the need to scale-up SW-tailored HIV/STI prevention. Despite the purported goal of 'protecting communities', end-demand criminalisation did not mitigate barriers to condom access, while sexual/gender minorities and those facing workplace violence, harassment or those who worked outdoors experienced poorest condom accessibility. Decriminalisation of sex work is needed to support SWs' labour rights, including access to HIV/STI prevention supplies.

Predictive value of psychological resilience for mental health disturbances: A three-wave prospective study among police officers.

Psychological resilience is considered an important predictor for mental health disturbances among rescue workers. To what extent resilience predicts mental health disturbances among police officers at different stages while adjusting for existing (mental) health disturbances is unclear. Among 566 police officers resilience was operationalized by the Resilience Scale-nl and the Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 questionnaires (8 scales in total). Mental health disturbances (such as depression symptoms and PTSD) and other health-related variables were assessed at baseline and follow-ups at three and nine months. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses assessed the predictive values of the 8 resilience scales for mental health disturbances at baseline (n = 566), three months (n = 566) and nine months (n = 364), adjusted for demographics, work circumstances, and health-related factors at baseline. Seven of the eight resilience scales at baseline were cross sectional associated with mental health disturbances at baseline. Only four scales were independent predictors for mental health disturbances at three months. When examining mental health disturbances at nine months, only one resilience scale remained a significant predictor. In sum, psychological resilience has a declining protective capacity for mental health disturbances over a medium time-span, specifically when corrected for baseline mental health disturbances.

Living under surveillance: Gender, psychological distress, and stop-question-and-frisk policing in New York City.

A growing body of research highlights the collateral consequences of mass incarceration, including stop-and-frisk policing tactics. Living in a neighborhood with aggressive policing may affect one's mental health, especially for men who are the primary targets of police stops. We examine whether there is an association between psychological distress and neighborhood-level aggressive policing (i.e., frisking and use of force by police) and whether that association varies by gender. The 2009-2011 New York City (NYC) Stop, Question, and Frisk Database is aggregated to the neighborhood-level (N = 34) and merged with individual data from the 2012 NYC Community Health Survey (N = 8066) via the United Hospital Fund neighborhood of respondents' residence. Weighted multilevel generalized linear models are used to assess main and gendered associations of neighborhood exposures to aggressive police stops on psychological distress (Kessler-6 items). While the neighborhood stop rate exhibits inconsistent associations with psychological distress, neighborhood-level frisk and use of force proportions are linked to higher levels of non-specific psychological distress among men, but not women. Specifically, men exhibit more non-specific psychological distress and more severe feelings of nervousness, effort, and worthlessness in aggressively surveilled neighborhoods than do women. Male residents are affected by the escalation of stop-and-frisk policing in a neighborhood. Living in a context of aggressive policing is an important risk factor for men's mental health.

Policing the past: cold case studies, forensic evidence and retroactive social control.

In this article an empirically grounded study of the police practices used when conducting cold case reviews of unsolved homicides is used to illuminate the key features of what is termed 'retroactive social control'. It is suggested that this mode of social control, that works by placing past events under new descriptions, is an increasingly important feature of how social control is being imagined and delivered, and is predicated upon the capacity to de-stabilize and re-write previous official definitions of a situation. Retroactive social control it is posited encompasses two inter-twined dimensions: the social control of collective memory, in terms of what is remembered and how; and social control through memory, wherein the shaping of the past influences the enactment of control in the present. The focus upon police cold case reviews suggests how forensic evidence and new investigative technologies have played an important role in shaping the development of these innovative aspects of contemporary policing. As such, the empirical focus illuminates a broader trend relating to how developments in science and technology are affording new possibilities in the ways that social control is conceptualized and conducted.

Penrose's law revisited: the relationship between mental institution beds, prison population and crime rate.

In 1939, Lionel Penrose published a cross-sectional study from 18 European countries, including the Nordic, in which he demonstrated an inverse relationship between the number of mental hospital beds and the number of prisoners. He also found strong negative correlations between the number of mental hospital beds and the number of deaths attributed to murder. He argued that by increasing the number of mental institution beds, a society could reduce serious crimes and imprisonment rates. The aim of the study was to test Penrose's theories longitudinally by monitoring the capacity of all psychiatric institutions and prisons in a society over time. From official statistics, we collected and systematized all relevant information regarding the number of mental institution beds and prisoners in Norway during the years 1930-2004, along with major crime statistics for the same period. During the years 1930-59, there was a 2% population-adjusted increase in mental institution beds and a 30% decrease in the prison population. During 1960-2004, there was a 74% population-adjusted decrease in mental institution beds and a 52% increase in the prison population. The same period saw a 500% increase in overall crime and a 900% increase in violent crimes, with a concurrent 94% increase in the size of the country's police force. Penrose's law proved remarkably robust in the longitudinal perspective. As opposed to Penrose, however, we argue that the rise in crime rates only to a very limited extent can be attributed to mental health de-institutionalization.

Brazilian responses to violence and new forms of mediation: the case of the Grupo Cultural AfroReggae and the experience of the project "Youth and the Police"

This article discusses some aspects of the Brazilian response to urban violence, focusing both official public safety policies and actions of the civil society. The text identifies the lack of a national public safety policy, indicates successful governmental experiences carried out in some states and municipalities, and concentrates on the actions of the police. Analyzing the responses of the civil society, the paper is emphasizing the campaign for disarming the population and the role played by the media. It shows the appearance of groups of young people living in the favelas, organized in turn of cultural experiences that, in multiple aspects, are characterized as "new mediators" in society. These groups thematize violence and try to build new stereotypes dissociating them from the image of criminality. The article describes in particular the cases of the Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, of Rio de Janeiro, and the pilot experience carried out in collaboration with the Minas Gerais Military Police, called "Youth and the Police". The AfroReggae group is a typical example of such a "new mediator", and the initiative of carrying out a work in cooperation with the police opens new perspectives for the traditionally scarce participation of civil organizations engaged in public safety in cooperative projects with the police.

O artigo discute aspectos das respostas brasileiras à violência urbana, focalizando tanto políticas governamentais de segurança pública como ações da sociedade civil. Identifica a inexistência de uma política nacional de segurança pública, indica experiências governamentais bem-sucedidas em estados e municípios e focaliza a atuação das polícias. Ao analisar as respostas da sociedade civil, destaca a experiência da campanha do desarmamento e o papel da mídia. O trabalho situa o surgimento de grupos de jovens de favelas organizados em torno de experiências culturais que, em vários aspectos, caracterizam-se como "novos mediadores" na sociedade. Esses grupos tematizam a violência e procuram construir novos estereótipos que dissociem os jovens de periferia das imagens de criminalidade. O artigo descreve em particular o caso do Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, do Rio de Janeiro, e a experiência-piloto em batalhões da Polícia Militar de Minas Gerais, o projeto "Juventude e Polícia". Argumenta-se que o Grupo AfroReggae é tipicamente um novo mediador, e que a iniciativa de realizar um projeto com a polícia abre novas perspectivas no campo da reduzida tradição participativa de organizações da sociedade civil na esfera segurança pública e em projetos de cooperação com a polícia.

Respostas brasileiras à violência e novas mediações: o caso do Grupo Cultural AfroReggae e a experiência do projeto Juventude e Polícia / Brazilian responses to violence and new forms of mediation: the case of the Grupo Cultural AfroReggae and the experience of the project Youth and the Police

O artigo discute aspectos das respostas brasileiras à violência urbana, focalizando tanto políticas governamentais de segurança pública como ações da sociedade civil. Identifica e inexistência de uma política nacional de segurança pública, indica experiências governamentais bem-sucedidas em estados e municípios e focaliza a atuação das polícias. Ao analisar as respostas da sociedade civil, destaca a experiência da campanha do desarmamento e o papel da mídia. O trabalho situa o surgimento de grupos de jovens de favelas organizados em torno de experiências culturais que, em vários aspectos, se caracterizam como novos mediadores na sociedade. Esses grupos tematizam a violência e procuram construir novos estereótipos que dissociem os jovens de periferia das imagens de criminalidade. O artigo descreve em particular o caso do grupo cultural AfroReggae, do Rio de Janeiro, e a experiência piloto em batalhões da Polícia Militar de Minas Gerais, o projeto Juventude e Polícia. Argumentase que o grupo AfroReggae é tipicamente um novo mediador e que a iniciativa de realizar um projeto com a polícia abre novas perspectivas no campo da reduzida tradição participativa de organizações da sociedade civil na esfera da segurança pública e em projetos de cooperação com a polícia.

This article points out some aspects of the Brazilian's response to the urban violence, focusing both official policies of public security and civil society's actions. Identifies a lack on the national policy of public security, indicates successful governmental experiences carried out on some states and counties, and concentrates on the Police's actions. Analyzing the responses of the civil society, points out the experience of the Campaign for Disarmament and the role of the media. The paper shows the rising of groups of young people living in the favelas that became organized around cultural experiences that, in multiple aspects, characterize them as new mediators in the society. Those groups talk about violence and try to build new stereotypes that disassociate them from the criminal type. The article describes, in particular, the cases of the Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, from Rio de Janeiro, and the pilotexperience experienced with Minas Gerais State Military Police, called Project Youth and Police. The grupo AfroReggae is typically a new mediator and the initiative to carry out a work with the Police shows new perspectives in the traditional low profile participation of the civil organizations related to public security and projects of cooperation with the Police.

A framework for the assessment of non-lethal weapons.

In many government, police and military circles, attention is being given to so-called 'non-lethal' weapons as means of reducing many of the negative effects directly or indirectly associated with the use of force. Despite the purported ability of the adoption of such weaponry to lessen grounds for contention and concern, past experience suggests the need for scepticism regarding the purported benefits. Rather than relying on poorly substantiated claims, comprehensive procedures are needed to ensure the appropriateness of force options. This article outlines some of the institutional structures required for 'carefully evaluating' and 'carefully controlling' non-lethal weapons, with a discussion of the perennial tensions associated with ensuring the relative 'acceptability' of the use of force.

Perspectives and implications for the proliferation of non-lethal weapons in the context of contemporary conflict, security interests and arms control.

This article briefly looks at the characteristics of contemporary conflict and the global political arena, particularly from 1989 and the end of the cold war. The development of and potential roles for second generation non-lethal weapons (NLWs) in war-fighting, peace support operations, and civil policing are discussed. There are arguments both for and against further and rapid development of NLWs. The question of proliferation and arms control is examined within the context of concepts such as the revolution in military affairs (RMA) and factors such as the increasing role of non-state actors, current security requirements and the problems concerning the implementation and enforcement of current and envisaged arms control regimes. Proliferation, which may be vertical or horizontal, may not always be seen as a malign process but rather one which requires specific ethical and operational perspectives. Proliferation is about both technology push and operational requirements. The effectiveness of legislative approaches to controlling proliferation, especially to countries which are considered to have poor human rights records, is discussed and issues about who wants to control NLWs, and why, are raised. Some technologies may be seen as less threatening to existing arms control and management treaties and the ethical debates which surround them. A concern regarding increasing use of non-lethal technologies for political oppression is part of this debate. The issues are illustrated using India as case study.