Perceptions of Police and Safety Among Young Adults

• In Event: Black Lives, Black Deaths, and Black Protest: Political Scientists Respond (Anew) to a Persistent Challenge: Young Adults Respond: Prison, Policing, and Political Activism

Abstract

Since the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Black activists across the nation have boldly called for the defunding of police, the abolition of prisons, and a reimagining of what public safety looks like. Building upon abolitionist frameworks, organizers are calling for state and local divestment from police and prisons and greater investment in their communities. Young adults-- particularly young Black people-- have been at the forefront of these calls, especially those participating in the Black Lives Matter Movement (Lopez Bunyasi and Smith 2019; Ransby 2018). Using data from the July 2019 GenForward Survey, this paper explores how young adults are thinking about public safety. In particular, I ask how differences across race and ethnic background influence perceptions of whether police make communities safer. Given the racialized history of policing, Black young adults and young adults of color will experience these systems much differently than white young adults. I also consider ways young people are re-envisioning justice and safety through interviews with organizers and activists in Chicago who have long been working for better solutions than police violence and punishment. This study will demonstrate that for young adults, policing is racialized and tied up with perceptions of politics-- who belongs, who gets what, and who police protect and serve.

Author

• Jordie Davies, Johns Hopkins University