NCJ Number
182499
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2000 Pages: 209-229
Date Published
May 2000
Length
21 pages
Annotation
A survey of 125 black male students in New Jersey high schools gathered information on their attitudes toward police and contacts with the police.
Abstract
The survey took place in 1993 and 1994. Advertising for the study noted that it was open to males ages 16 or 17 years; however, researchers interviewed youths ages 15 and 18 if they were within 3 months of the target age. All participants reported contact with the police, despite low delinquency and a small percentage of juvenile court involvement among the participants. Results suggested that personal interaction with the police is not the sole or primary factor that determines adolescent attitudes. Instead, attitude formation is a complex process that involves both direct and indirect police contact. A majority of the participants reported experiencing the police as a repressive rather than facilitative agent in their own lives and in the lives of their friends and relatives. Positive encounters with the police are not sufficient to overcome negative attitudes, but increased opportunities for the two groups to encounter each other in service rather than enforcement situations can engender improved attitudes and respect for the police. Tables, notes, appended instrument, and 49 references (Author abstract modified)