To Serve and Protect Whom? Using Composite Counter-Storytelling to Explore Black and Indigenous Youth Experiences and Perceptions of the Police in Canada

Research based in the US and Britain have established that perceptions of the police are particularly low among youth and racialized communities. However, by contrast, little is known about racialized youth perceptions of the police within Canada. Due to formal and informal bans on the collection of race-based data, Canada maintains its international reputation as a tolerant multicultural society. Using the critical race methodology of composite counter-storytelling, this paper will highlight the perspectives of Black and Indigenous youth and explore their experiences with law enforcement. This aims to counter Canada's international status as a multicultural utopia and demonstrate how legal criminal justice actors, such as the police, perpetuate the marginalized status of Black and Indigenous youth through the process of criminalization.

Automated summary

Research in the US and UK shows low perceptions of police among youth and racialized communities, but little is known about racialized youth perceptions of police in Canada due to bans on collecting race-based data. This paper uses critical race methodology to highlight Black and Indigenous youth perspectives and experiences with law enforcement, aiming to challenge Canada's multicultural utopia image and show how police contribute to the marginalization of Black and Indigenous youth through criminalization.