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Minor harassments : Ethnic minority youth in the Nordic countries and their perceptions of the police

Haller, Mie Birk ; Solhjell, Randi ; Saarikkomäki, Elsa ; Kolind, Torsten ; Hunt, Geoffrey and Wästerfors, David LU (2020) In Criminology and Criminal Justice 20(1). p.3-20
Abstract

As different social groups are directly and indirectly confronted with diverse forms of police practices, different sectors of the population accumulate different experiences and respond differently to the police. This study focuses on the everyday experiences of the police among ethnic minority young people in the Nordic countries. The data for the article are based on semi-structured interviews with 121 young people in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. In these interviews, many of the participants refer to experiences of “minor harassments” – police interactions characterized by low-level reciprocal intimidations and subtle provocations, exhibited in specific forms of body language, attitudes and a range of expressions to convey... (More)

As different social groups are directly and indirectly confronted with diverse forms of police practices, different sectors of the population accumulate different experiences and respond differently to the police. This study focuses on the everyday experiences of the police among ethnic minority young people in the Nordic countries. The data for the article are based on semi-structured interviews with 121 young people in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. In these interviews, many of the participants refer to experiences of “minor harassments” – police interactions characterized by low-level reciprocal intimidations and subtle provocations, exhibited in specific forms of body language, attitudes and a range of expressions to convey derogatory views. We argue that “minor harassments” can be viewed as a mode of conflictual communication which is inscribed in everyday involuntary interactions between the police and ethnic minority youth and which, over time, can develop an almost ritualized character. Consequently, minority youth are more likely to hold shared experiences that influence their perceptions of procedural justice, notions of legitimacy and the extent to which they comply with law enforcement representatives.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ethnic minority youth, micro-aggressions, minor harassments, Nordic policing, procedural justice
in
Criminology and Criminal Justice
volume
20
issue
1
pages
3 - 20
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85058614916
ISSN
1748-8958
DOI
10.1177/1748895818800744
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3deca1d6-a396-4300-9624-ba8e1d3ae182
date added to LUP
2019-01-10 10:06:33
date last changed
2022-04-25 20:12:19
@article{3deca1d6-a396-4300-9624-ba8e1d3ae182,
  abstract     = {{<p>As different social groups are directly and indirectly confronted with diverse forms of police practices, different sectors of the population accumulate different experiences and respond differently to the police. This study focuses on the everyday experiences of the police among ethnic minority young people in the Nordic countries. The data for the article are based on semi-structured interviews with 121 young people in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. In these interviews, many of the participants refer to experiences of “minor harassments” – police interactions characterized by low-level reciprocal intimidations and subtle provocations, exhibited in specific forms of body language, attitudes and a range of expressions to convey derogatory views. We argue that “minor harassments” can be viewed as a mode of conflictual communication which is inscribed in everyday involuntary interactions between the police and ethnic minority youth and which, over time, can develop an almost ritualized character. Consequently, minority youth are more likely to hold shared experiences that influence their perceptions of procedural justice, notions of legitimacy and the extent to which they comply with law enforcement representatives.</p>}},
  author       = {{Haller, Mie Birk and Solhjell, Randi and Saarikkomäki, Elsa and Kolind, Torsten and Hunt, Geoffrey and Wästerfors, David}},
  issn         = {{1748-8958}},
  keywords     = {{Ethnic minority youth; micro-aggressions; minor harassments; Nordic policing; procedural justice}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{3--20}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Criminology and Criminal Justice}},
  title        = {{Minor harassments : Ethnic minority youth in the Nordic countries and their perceptions of the police}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1748895818800744}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/1748895818800744}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}