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“It Stays with You for Life”: The Everyday Nature and Impact of Police Violence in Toronto’s Inner-City

Author

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  • Carolyn Greene

    (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada)

  • Marta-Marika Urbanik

    (Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H4, Canada)

  • Kanika Samuels-Wortley

    (Department of Criminology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada)

Abstract

In recent years, police violence has amassed notable international attention from the public, practitioners, and academics alike. This paper explores experiences and perceptions of police violence in Canada, documenting the impacts of direct and vicarious experiences of police violence on inner-city residents. The study employed semi-structured interviews with 45 community members across three Toronto inner-city neighbourhoods. Using a general interview prompt guide, participants were asked a range of questions about their experiences with and perceptions of police, and particularly, of police violence in their community. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, thematically coded, and analyzed. All participants reported direct and/or vicarious experiences of police violence, and most described experiencing long-standing, and continual fear that police contact would result in harm to them. Further, participants described a variety of serious and negative outcomes associated with experiencing and/or witnessing police violence. Police violence in Canada is a public health issue that requires an integrated public health policy approach to address the negative outcomes associated with direct and vicarious police violence exposure.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolyn Greene & Marta-Marika Urbanik & Kanika Samuels-Wortley, 2022. "“It Stays with You for Life”: The Everyday Nature and Impact of Police Violence in Toronto’s Inner-City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-11, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:17:p:10503-:d:895599
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Alang, S. & McAlpine, D. & McCreedy, E. & Hardeman, R., 2017. "Police brutality and black health: Setting the agenda for public health scholars," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 107(5), pages 662-665.
    3. repec:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2017.303691_2 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Cody T. Ross & Bruce Winterhalder & Richard McElreath, 2018. "Correction: Resolution of apparent paradoxes in the race-specific frequency of use-of-force by police," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-1, December.
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    6. Desmond Ang, 2021. "The Effects of Police Violence on Inner-City Students," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(1), pages 115-168.
    7. Geller, A. & Fagan, J. & Tyler, T. & Link, B.G., 2014. "Aggressive policing and the mental health of young urban men," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(12), pages 2321-2327.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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