The role of the police in building community identity among young people.

The role of the police in building community identity among young people. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2015 Nov;85(6 Suppl):S100-2 Authors: Lyons P Abstract Discusses the role of the police in building community identity among young people. Whether one subscribes to the view that the police are law enforcement officers, or that they are peace officers who maintain social order, most agree that an important function of the police is reinforcing community norms and intervening when those norms are violated. Social order depends heavily on voluntary compliance with the law and community norms which, in turn, depend on community perceptions of the legitimacy of the police as an institution. Furthermore, trust and trustworthiness of government authority, as personified by the police, in the enforcement of citizen-made law provide the foundation and in some measure the expression of citizens' collective efficacy as democratic decision makers. Attitudes toward the police are not evenly distributed across all groups. They vary systematically with demographic characteristics. Members of communities with concentrated disadvantage report higher rates of racially biased policing which, in turn, undermine the sense of legitimacy people experience when they believe they have been treated fairly. Whites have the most favorable attitudes toward the police, with African Americans having the least favorable attitudes and Hispanics falling somewhere between. ...
Source: The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Am J Orthopsychiatry Source Type: research