TITLE:
Why Black and Brown Youth Fear and Distrust Police: An Exploration of Youth Killed by Police in the US (2016/2017), Implications for Counselors and Service Providers
AUTHORS:
Rafael Outland
KEYWORDS:
Children and Teens, Extrajudicial-Killings, Race and Gender, Police Accountability, Mental Health, Counseling Implications
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.4,
April
22,
2021
ABSTRACT: Black
and Brown youth homicides by police remain a public health epidemic. Such
occurrences can contribute to these youth’s fear and distrust toward officers.
The purpose of this manuscript was to provide evidence of why Black and Brown youth fear and distrust police, and to discuss implications
for counselors and service providers who work with survivors of youth killings
by police. Using a preexisting database, this work explored the frequency of
youth killings by police in 2016/2017. Descriptive statistics were used for
data analysis. Results revealed that 116 youth were killed by police. Black
males were killed four times more often than Brown and White males, and White
females were killed four times more often than Black females. Recommendations
for government and judicial services, along with youth activists and mental
health care providers, are discussed.