Behavior ‘Stop and Frisk’ Stirs Up, Rather than Deters, Youth Crime

Behavior ‘Stop and Frisk’ Stirs Up, Rather than Deters, Youth Crime by Maia Szalavitz

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Law enforcement reminders of the consequences of criminal behavior are supposed to curb illegal activity, but some of these intimidation strategies may be backfiring, especially among youth. In the latest study of stop and frisk policies, in which law enforcement randomly stop individuals for questioning even if they aren’t engaged in criminal activity, researchers found that those who were stopped were more likely than those who were not to engage in delinquent behavior later on.