"Why I Can't Stand Out in Front of My House?": Street-Identified Black Youth and Young Adult's Negative Encounters With Police

This street participatory action research (Street PAR) study organized 15 residents to document streetidentified Black youth and adult's negative experiences with police in Wilmington, Delaware. Data were collected on mostly street-identified Black men and women aged 18—35 in the forms of (1) 520 surveys, (2) 24 individual interviews, (3) four dual interviews, (4) three group interviews, and (5) extensive field observations. Forty-two percent of survey participants reported being stopped by police in the last year. However, with the exception of being "stopped," participants overall reported little negative contact with police at least within the past year. Chi-square and ANOVA analyses suggest an interactional relationship exists between race, gender, and age on experiences with police. Younger Black men (18–21) were found to have the most negative contact with police. Analysis suggests a smaller, more hardened mostly male variant of the larger street community has had repeated contact with police. Qualitative analysis reveals at least two major themes: (1) disrespect and disdain for residents and (2) low motivation for working with police. Street PAR methodology was also found to be instrumental in working with local residents and the Wilmington Police Department to improve conditions between residents and police.