COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take
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2.5 CRIMINAL JUSTICE<br />
A common concern among youth was mistreatment from police officers, including police<br />
profiling and officers failing to adequately respond to family violence or violence in the<br />
commun<strong>it</strong>y. In some instances, youth reported that this happened so frequently that they<br />
stopped calling 911. For some youth, the failure of the police was amplified by the failure of<br />
social workers, child welfare workers, teachers, and other commun<strong>it</strong>y members to protect them<br />
from abuse or violence. For many, this resulted in a breakdown in trust in the criminal justice<br />
system specifically. Other young people reported that they were ignored or not believed by<br />
responding officers. One youth described being shamed by a police officer because he wasn’t<br />
being a “man” in response to his caregiver threatening him w<strong>it</strong>h assault and a gun.<br />
Youth discussed being profiled by police because<br />
they appeared poor and young, and being told<br />
to leave public spaces for this reason. Youth also<br />
felt that Indigenous Peoples faced poor treatment<br />
from police officers, w<strong>it</strong>h one youth expressing that<br />
the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples blocks<br />
Indigenous youth from employment and traps them<br />
in poverty. These comments resonate w<strong>it</strong>h what we<br />
know about POC people being disproportionately<br />
targeted for ‘street checks’ and ‘carding’ practices as<br />
well (Wortley & Owusu-Bempah, 2011). Due to repeated<br />
negative interactions w<strong>it</strong>h police, several youth were<br />
skeptical that police practices would change. One<br />
Montreal youth commented, “The police will never<br />
change, that’s for sure.”<br />
“Calling the cops and having<br />
<strong>it</strong> turned around on you. That<br />
happened to me a lot in assault<br />
s<strong>it</strong>uations. It was absolutely<br />
ridiculous, and after a while, you<br />
call the cops for help so many<br />
times that you got to stop calling,<br />
because they aren’t helping you.<br />
Or you’re just going to have this<br />
judgment against the cops.”<br />
VANCOUVER YOUTH<br />
Youth also explained that youth trans<strong>it</strong>ioning out of corrections face difficulties trans<strong>it</strong>ioning<br />
back into society, suggesting that more supports and housing need to be offered to ensure<br />
youth do not cycle back into the criminal justice system.<br />
Youth also requested that there be alternatives to incarcerating<br />
youth, including through the provision of diversion programs.<br />
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 97
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