Assessing Long-Term Effects of Police Stops During Adolescence in the United Kingdom

• In Event: Long Term Effects of Criminal Legal System Contact

Abstract

Some individuals spend their lifetime without ever being stopped by the police, while others often experience disproportionate exposure to policing. Studies suggest that early police encounters are associated with unintended consequences including drug use and self-harm in later adolescence. Yet the consequences on offending behaviour, education and health trajectories are not well understood. We draw on the two most recent sweeps of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), covering data from 2015-2018 (N = 9,159). Using this panel data, we model changes in offending behaviour, educational outcomes, and mental health indicators between ages 14 and 17 based on the experience of a stop before age 14; although repeated measures are not available for every outcome variable of interest, we use the longitudinal structure of the data to ensure correct temporal ordering. We also control for important pre-treatment confounders, such as prior offending behaviour, drug use, and gang membership. Results indicate that being stopped during early adolescence is associated with an increased probability of engaging in offending behaviour, a decreased probability of attending university, and negative changes in self-esteem three years later. Additionally, deleterious consequences of early exposure to policing tend to be stronger among Black and other ethnic minority youth.

Authors

• Amal Ali, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Arabella Kyprianides, University College London

• Pele Petnga-Wallace, College of Policing

• Paul Quinton, College of Policing

• Thiago Oliveira, University of Manchester