Dispossession by Accumulation: The Impacts of Discretionary Arrests in New York City. (July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jashnani, Gaurav; Bustamante, Priscilla; Stoudt, Brett G.
• Is Part Of: Race and justice. Volume 10:Number 3(2020:Jul.)
• Page Start: 269
• Page End: 296
• Publication Date: 2020-07
• Subjects: order maintenance policing -- broken windows -- police encounters -- noncriminal violations -- low-level arrests -- youth -- human impact -- mixed methods; Crime and race -- United States -- Periodicals; Discrimination in criminal justice administration -- Periodicals; United States -- Race relations -- Periodicals; 364.089
• DOI: 10.1177/2153368717742476
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2153-3687

Abstract

Low-income people of color have been shown to experience disproportionate stops, ticketing, and arrests within an order maintenance policing (OMP) approach to urban law enforcement. A small but growing number of studies have begun to explore the complex lived experience of police encounters within this approach—an important task given the significant consequences of such policing for individuals and communities. This article examines qualitative and quantitative data on incidents of discretionary arrest for low-level offenses, with a focus on young people of color. In-depth, semistructured interviews and focus groups, as well as structured interviews outside criminal courts across New York City, were conducted, offering insight into the scope and depth of impact that OMP has on communities of color. The authors' analysis underscores how OMP can shift relationships to public space in ways that foster fear and social isolation, examines the varied responses of young people to an unwanted criminal identity, and suggests the importance of recognizing the cumulative nature of OMP's collateral consequences.