Doctoral Dissertation Research: Junior Police Youth, Labeling, and Social Control in School

NSF提案1702385学校中的青年警察、标签和社会控制Dina Okamoto(PI)、Mai泰国(Co-Pi)青年警察学院是青年管道计划，旨在使当地执法多样化，并以低收入社区为目标，理由是它们为青年提供结构和职业机会。他们的使命是通过促进学术、领导力、纪律和社区服务来培养好公民。这个项目将探索初级警察项目在学校中的作用，以及它们如何塑造学生与成人和教育机构中的同龄人的经验。虽然关于学校和警察合作关系的大部分研究都集中在惩罚和排除纪律做法上，如拘留、停职、驱逐和逮捕，但初级警察项目是刑事司法和教育机构合作的另一种途径。因此，这项研究的学术价值将扩大关于各种形式的警察及其如何塑造年轻人的经历的知识。在更广泛的影响方面，与学校实践、同伴文化和职业计划有关的调查结果将为改善青年，特别是处于边缘社区的青年的福祉的政策和实践提供参考。为了了解少年警察项目的成员如何塑造青年在学校的经历，本研究将使用定性方法比较初级警察学生和他们在城市高中的非成员同龄人的经历。观察将在不同的空间进行，如教室、学校活动和少年警察活动，以检查与教育资源、指导、纪律做法和同伴网络有关的主题。访谈将在机构设置的不同职位上进行，如教师、行政人员、初级警察学生和其他不在节目中的学生。针对成年人的问题将涉及他们在专业角色中的经历、与学生的互动以及对学校活动的看法等主题。针对学生的问题将涉及他们与当局的互动、他们获得的资源、与同龄人的关系以及未来的抱负等主题。这项研究的目标将是捕捉学校组织中的社会动态，并在一个经常面临各种形式的刑事司法干预的社区背景下理解与初级警察有关的话语。因此，这项研究将为理解社会控制提供新的理论方法，超越现有的惩罚性框架。

NSF Proposal 1702385Junior Police Youth, Labeling, and Social Control in SchoolDina Okamoto (PI), Mai Thai (Co-PI)Junior police academies are youth pipeline programs that aim to diversify local law enforcement and target low-income communities under the rationale that they provide structure and career opportunities for youth. Their mission is to produce good citizens by promoting academics, leadership, discipline, and community service. This project will explore the role of junior police programs in schools and how they shape students' experiences with adults and peers within the educational institution. While much of the research on school-police partnerships focuses on punishment and exclusionary discipline practices such as detentions, suspensions, expulsions, and arrests, junior police programs are another avenue through which criminal justice and educational institutions collaborate. Thus, the intellectual merit of this study will expand knowledge on various forms of policing and how it shapes the experiences of young people. In terms of broader impacts, findings related to school practices, peer culture, and vocational programs will inform policies and practices to improve the well-being of youth, particularly those in marginalized communities.To understand how membership in the junior police program shapes youth's experiences in school, this study will use qualitative methods to compare the experiences of junior police students with that of their non-member peers at an urban high school. Observations will be conducted in various spaces such as classrooms, school events, and junior police activities to examine themes related to educational resources, mentoring, disciplinary practices, and peer networks. Interviews will be conducted with actors across various positions in the institutional setting, such as teachers, administrators, junior police students, and other students not in the program. Questions for adults will address topics such as their experiences in their professional role, interactions with students, and perceptions of school activities. Questions for students will address topics such as their interactions with authorities, resources they receive, relationships with peers, and future aspirations. The goal of this research will be to capture the social dynamics in the school organization and to understand the discourses related to the junior police in the context of a community that regularly faces various forms of criminal justice intervention. This research will thus theorize new ways of understanding social control beyond existing punitive frameworks.