ABSTRACT
What You Need to Know
■ In 2015, police arrested 709,333 persons under age 18. The majority of these (59 percent) were referred to juvenile court jurisdiction. The police used their discretion to handle and release 26 percent of these youths.
■ A new view of the police role is one of community or problem-solving policing. This view tries to include the community as a partner in defining and solving crime and disorder problems.
■ “Broken windows” policing places emphasis on policing disorder such as loitering and vagrants because this model sees disorder as a factor associated with street crime. The theory is that if police can reduce disorder, crime will also decrease.
■ Research indicates that some departments using traditional police strategies refer to it as community or problem-solving policing. So not all departments are actually following the directions of innovators.
■ African Americans generally hold less positive views of the police than whites. Many youths appear to be either indifferent or less than overwhelming in their support of police.
■ Racial issues have been at the center of media and political attention in the last five years. Particular concern has arisen over police shootings and practices such as Stop, Question, and Frisk.
■ Disproportionate minority contact refers to the overrepresentation of any racial group in arrest and court statistics compared to the proportion of that group in the population.
■ Research indicates that juvenile curfew laws are not effective in reducing crime.
