Doctoral Dissertation Research: Examining Perceptions and Spatial Interactions Between Children and Law Enforcement

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This doctoral dissertation research examines the spatial interactions between police and children from minority groups, and the impacts of those encounters on children's perceptions and experiences. Police departments rely increasingly on various policing technologies, including the use of biometric and spatial profiling data. Yet there is little research on the interplay of these policing technologies and their social and geographic impacts on local communities, particularly communities of color. Understanding how these technologies impact children's perceptions of policing, identity, place, and personal security have the potential of improving law enforcement and public well-being. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a promising young scholar to establish an independent research career.The doctoral student will examine perceptions and spatial interactions between police and children from minority groups. Specifically, this research asks, what are the spatial interactions between law-enforcement and children from minority communities, and what are the impacts on children's well-being of those interactions. The doctoral student will use a mixed-method approach to collect data through interviews, focus groups, and participant observation. Children's perceptions and spatial interactions will be understood via the production of visual interpretive materials such as drawings, comics, and mental maps. Findings will be presented in community workshops, community-council meetings and police-community meetings in ways designed to open dialog regarding police policies, practices, and community impacts. This research will provide an analysis of the social and geographic impacts of policing technologies on children from minority groups with implications for informing police, child, and community interactions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.