"Their Help Is Not Helping": Policing as a Tool of Structural Violence Against Black Communities

Objective: To illustrate Black youth's perceptions of police violence in West Louisville, Kentucky, how they make sense of it, and their responses to it. Method: The study used qualitative interviews with youth ages 10-24 residing in West Louisville. The interviews did not specifically inquire about experiences with police, but the theme emerged so strongly from the overall analysis that the present study was warranted. The research team employed a constructivist analytic approach. Results: The analysis yielded two overarching themes, each with several subthemes. The first theme was Black youth experience profiling and harassment by police, with subthemes focused on youth feeling targeted, youth recognizing policing as a tactic to remove them from their community, and youth being acutely aware of police-involved violence. The second theme was Black youth's experiences with the police cultivates mistrust and unsafety, with subthemes including police seen as more likely to harm than help, police not resolving injustices against Black people, and police presence escalating conflict in Black communities. Conclusions: Youth's narratives regarding their experiences with police highlight the physical and psychological violence enacted by police who come into their community, supported by the law enforcement and criminal justice systems. Youth recognize systemic racism in these systems and how it affects officers' perceptions of them. The long-term implications of persistent structural violence these youth endure has implications on their physical and mental health and well-being. Solutions must focus on transforming structures and systems.