Policing and Overuse of the Juvenile Justice System

Abstract

National attention toward recent highly publicized police killings and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color, highlight the continued systematic oppression of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Furthermore, burgeoning evidence demonstrates that police contact is associated with adverse health outcomes for Black and Latinx youth beyond the loss of life. This article seeks to describe the historical and contemporary context of youth’s experiences with the police and present the state of the science linking police contact to poor health. The evidence suggests that police contact is a critical determinant of health for racial and ethnic minority children and that pediatric clinicians, researchers, and policymakers have a role in mitigating the detrimental impact of policing on child health.