Potential Pathways: Police Stops, Theoretical Drivers of Deviance, and Juvenile Delinquency in a Scottish Sample

• In Event: Consequences of School Suspension, Delinquency, and Police Contact

Abstract

Recent research examines the nature of relationships between police stops and young people’s subsequent delinquency. These findings however, are often centered on US samples. We examine whether police stops area are associated with different theoretical explanations for deviance (e.g., procedural fairness, strain, deviant self-identity, and labeling) among a longitudinal sample (4 waves) of adolescents (ages 12-15) from Edinburgh, Scotland. Structural equation modeling is used to examine the potential pathways (i.e., direct, indirect and total effects) between stops and deviant theoretical variables. We also examine if there is any indication that those theoretical variables mediate a relationship between police stops and delinquency.

Authors

• Marin Kurti, Rutgers University

• Sarah Trocchio, Rutgers University

• Joel Miller, Rutgers University