Black teenagers face higher likelihood of police approaches
Black children and teenagers are disproportionately targeted by police, as revealed in a study by the Center for the Study of Violence (NEV) at the University of São Paulo (USP).
Between 2016 and 2019, the study examined 800 children and adolescents from 120 public and private schools in São Paulo through an extensive questionnaire on their interactions with the police.
The findings showed that black children were twice as likely to be approached by the police compared to their white counterparts, with 21.5 percent of black children reporting police searches, as opposed to 8.33 percent among whites and 9.74 percent among browns. This disparity also extended to being taken to the police station or facing police aggression.
NEV researcher Renan Theodoro highlighted the impact of such violent approaches with a racist bias on young minds, potentially eroding trust and legitimacy towards the police in society. "When they realize that the police are violent in their neighborhood, even if it is supposedly to fight crime, this does not improve the legitimacy of the police, on the contrary," Theodoro points out.
The researcher highlights that when the police approach more blacks than whites, it sends a damaging message about their societal legitimacy. He criticizes the invisibility and denial of racial discrimination in police training, emphasizing that “the police are the mirror of a democratic state.”
Data from NEV and other institutions demonstrate that the current police training course is insufficient to tackle this issue effectively. The researcher urges a comprehensive approach, understanding it as an “institutional problem, not just an individual matter for each police officer on the street.”
According to the Brazilian Statute of the Child and Adolescent, no minor can be searched by the police without the presence of a guardian or a guardianship counselor. Even if they are caught committing an infraction, they must be referred to the Guardianship Council, which will apply a protective measure.
In a statement, the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat affirms that police approaches adhere to legal parameters defined by law and highlights continuous efforts by the military police to evolve and improve.
Police training schools study anti-racist actions, and the military police participate academically in the working group Anti-racist Movement - Security of the Future, coordinated by Zumbi dos Palmares University, the statement reads.
