ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how urban adolescents perceive police and law enforcement. Urban communities have complained that police have often harassed them and abused police authority. Young people living in urban impoverished communities have perceived the police as “alien invaders.” This perception, coupled with the hyper-militarization of inner-city police departments, has left many young people feeling like their neighborhoods have been occupied by outside forces. In this chapter, several theoretical frameworks and historical considerations are highlighted to describe the lived experiences of urban Black adolescents’ interaction with law enforcement and the benefits of youth involvement in police training.
