A CRISIS WITHIN A CRISIS: POLICE KILLINGS OF BLACK EMERGING ADULTS By Marc Schindler & Jeremy Kittredge In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks, thousands of Americans from across the country have been standing up for racial justice and demanding fundamental reform to the way this country conducts policing. While many have known all too well that law enforcement has victimized communities of color throughout U.S. history, the intersection of police violence, the racially disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a rising right-wing white supremacist movement seemed to elevate the devastating effects of racism and police violence to a much broader slice of America. Calls for defunding the police and dismantling a racist criminal justice system echoed across communities, in state capitals and even across the world. As the issue of police violence is finally receiving the attention it justifiably deserves, it is critical that state and local leaders pay particular attention to its impact on young adults (increasingly being referred to as “emerging adults”), especially Black and Brown emerging adults.
to be killed by a police officer than a white emerging adult and nearly three times more likely than a Latinx emerging adult. Further, Latinx emerging adults are about two times more likely to be killed than white emerging adults. One of the underlying drivers of these disparities is overly aggressive policing in communities of color, which is seldom driven by actual evidence of wrongdoing. For example, stop-and-frisk encounters disproportionately impact communities of color, but data show that only three percent of the incidents rendered adequate evidence of a crime. This treatment by police often leads to an erosion of trust in law enforcement, including willingness to report crime, and belief in the legitimacy of the law more generally.[1] Thus, these racially-biased tactics do not create safer, stronger communities but, instead, erode trust between the communities – particularly amongst young adults — and the police and ultimately result in unconscionable rates of victimization among Black and Latinx emerging adults by law enforcement.[2]
Unfortunately, these disparities continue, and even increase, as emerging adults of color go deeper into the legal system. In 2018, First, research shows that the brain continues Black emerging adult males were 20 times as to mature until at least a person’s mid-20s. likely to be incarcerated as white males, and While emerging adults have more cognitive Latinx were about five times as likely.[3] A development than someone under 18, they still longitudinal study analyzing arrest data from possess youth-like attributes of impulsivity, 1997 to 2008 found that nearly 50 percent risk-seeking, and impaired judgment. of Black males, and 44 percent of Latinx Though emerging adults have specific needs males, are arrested by the age of 23.[4] based on their level of development, they When communities lack developmentallyrarely receive developmentally-appropriate appropriate supports for their emerging adult services. Entering the emerging adult years population, law enforcement often becomes means exiting public education and losing the sole response to behaviors that can be access to many other publicly-funded better handled outside of the criminal justice programs. Equipping communities with system. Moreover, this unnecessary contact tailored approaches for emerging adults with the front-end of the system can be a will have an outsized impact on our justice catalyst for police misconduct. system, including reducing unnecessary Moving forward, we must ask ourselves: encounters with law enforcement. What do safe and healthy communities look Second, recent data shows a disturbing like, and where do we allocate our resources connection between police-related violence most effectively to achieve this goal? and emerging adults. The Washington Post found that police killings are a leading It is beyond time we end the failed policies cause of death for young men in America, of the past, reckon with these unjust practices specifically young Black men. In 2017, that are drastically impacting emerging Black emerging adults, 20 – 24 years old, adults of color, and implement policies and were killed by police at more than triple the practices that are based on evidence and rate of white emerging adults. Black males what studies have shown will work. The do not experience similar mortality rates as unrest in response to police killings shows we have reached a boiling point. People white males until they are 40 years old. are saying, “enough is enough.” Failure to Since there is still no national database heed calls for reform to the way policing reporting use of force data by police, we’ve is done in America has resulted in a tragic collected data drawn from news coverage loss of human life, weakened families and about police killings to estimate the scale communities, and an overwhelming feeling of police violence against emerging adults. of anger and hopelessness in communities of color. What we found is genuinely alarming. Focusing on emerging adults is essential for several reasons.
Of the 6,577 reported police killings during that period, 20 percent were emerging adults, twice their representation in the general population. For emerging adults of color, the disparity is even worse. Of all Black people killed by police, Black emerging adults accounted for 31 percent, despite representing only 12 percent of the Black population and just one percent of the entire U.S. population. On average, Black emerging adults are five times more likely
individual’s mental health state or substance use disorder. We know the police are not always appropriate to respond to mental health crises – they are not social workers or psychologists. Other jurisdictions should follow the lead of San Francisco, CharlotteMecklenburg, and others re-imagining their 911 response, which changed practice to deploy teams of professionals from the fire and health departments to address 911 calls for a psychiatric, behavioral, or substance use crisis. While it is too early to understand the full impact that these types of changes will have, relying on non-criminal justice professionals with experience in defusing situations, rather than escalating by defaulting to handcuffs, chokeholds, or drawn guns, will significantly reduce the number of young people dying at the hands of police violence. There are also other systemic reforms that should be implemented to change the way the legal system responds to emerging adults, including specialized supervision approaches, courts and corrections units. It is heartening to see the potential for real change in the way policing is done. Ensuring that these reforms are developed and tailored with emerging adults in mind will likely have an outsized impact on the outcomes achieved. Footnotes: [1] Carr, P. J., Napolitano, L., & Keating, J. (2007). We never call the cops and here is why: A qualitative examination of legal cynicism in three Philadelphia neighborhoods. Criminology, 45(2), 445480. [2] Frank Edwards, Hedwig Lee, and Michael Esposito, The risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race-ethnicity, and sex (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University, 2018); See also, Justin Nix, et al., A Bird’s Eye View of Civilians Killed by Police in 2015 (Criminology & Public Policy, 2017); See also, forthcoming report, Fader, J. and Talley, D. “Respect: A Necessary Element of Justice Contact with Emerging Adults.” Emerging Adult Justice Learning Community, Justice Lab, Columbia University. [3] E. Ann Carson, Prisoners in 2018 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2020). https://www.bjs. gov/content/pub/pdf/p18.pdf.
[4] Robert Brame, Shawn D. Bushway, Ray Paternoster, et al., Demographic Patterns of Cumulative Arrests Prevalence by Age 18 and 23 (College Park, MD: University of Maryland, College of Behavioral & Social Rather than merely deploying police, we Sciences, 2014). https://bsos.umd.edu/ should repair the harms committed in featured-content/study-nearly-half-blackthe most impacted communities without males resorting to a law enforcement response. Meaningful and manageable community- Marc Schindler is the executive director of based investments can create an outsized the Justice Policy Institute. impact. For example, providing alternatives to calling 911 for every issue would make Jeremy Kittredge is a staff writer for the a significant difference. Nearly 25 percent Brookings Institute. of all fatal police encounters follow a response to disruptive behavior tied to an Article from www.brookings.edu
The Columbus & Dayton African American • February 2021
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The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015
