A Community-Based Approach to Examining Health and Over-Policing

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Discriminatory surveillance results in multiple health issues. Excess use of force and involuntary police contacts are known to increase the likelihood of injuries and deaths. Furthermore, chronic exposure to neighborhood stress contributes to mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Studies document that minority men with a history of criminal justice contact tend to avoid encounters with formal institutions due to fear of police contact. This finding suggests that justice-involved individuals and families are less likely to seek social services and healthcare, even when desperately needed. While justice-involved individuals are tracked across multiple agencies such as educational, social services, and health programs, data-driven, predictive policing has not reduced crime but reinforced extreme stigmatization, structural violence, and health disparities among Black communities.

Our project aims to explore how hyper-surveillance of communities of color affect the pattern of social interactions in everyday life among justice-involved families, and health consequences of living in highly policed neighborhoods including chronic stress and trauma. We will utilize a multi- method case study strategy including: