Safety For Whom?: Understanding Black Youth Experiences with School Based Law Enforcement

• In Event: Co-Opting Restorative Justice: Black Life and Youth Experiences in the School to Prison Nexus

Abstract

Today, 30,000 police officers are stationed in schools nationwide. With school shooting tragedies, many policymakers have rallied around safety and supported the influx of school based law enforcement (SBLE) in K-12 schools. Although policymakers argue SBLE provide an atmosphere of security, it has created a hostile environment for many Black students. Using Black Critical Theory along with historical trauma and Dark sousveillance as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study aims to understand Black students’ recalled experiences with SBLE while in high school. From interviews with Black youth, multiple narratives around students’ past high school experiences and how that impacted their interactions and overall views on SBLE emerged. Researchers also found themes of avoidance, contradiction, and social capital in participants' narratives about how they described their experiences with SBLE. Study findings could inform school safety practices that center the needs of Black youth.

Author

• Chetachukwu Uchenna Agwoeme, University of Pittsburgh