In this Working Paper, Njilan Morris-Jarra examines how youth practitioners navigate the challenges of multi-agency work, specifically in their interactions with police while supporting young people in proximity to serious violence and crime.
For over 15 years, various holistic, multi-agency and public health approaches to youth in proximity to violence have centred partnerships between police and community services.
Drawing on interviews with 13 youth practitioners, as well as her own research and experience, Morris-Jarra outlines the conflicting priorities and logics underlying these partnerships with the police. She identifies three central themes from the interviews: punitive vs. welfare-driven approaches, racial discrimination, and a victim-perpetrator overlap. Morris-Jarra also outlines the strategies that youth practitioners employ to address the challenges that conflicting logics and priorities create.
The reflections of youth practitioners offer an important perspective, as Morris-Jarra writes:
Youth practitioners, due to their closeness to both young people and the police in multi-agency settings, offer unique insights into the conflicts between punitive and welfare-driven approaches. Their frontline role provides a professional lens that allows them to understand and navigate the competing interests of law enforcement and the needs of vulnerable youth from marginalised communities.
Morris-Jarra also notes that the insights shared by youth practitioners resonate with the critical literature on soft policing and its harmful impact on Black and marginalised communities.
In conclusion, based on her research findings and the critical literature, Morris-Jarra suggests a number of community-based alternatives to police involvement in multi-agency work.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies’ working paper series publishes research and analysis of an exploratory nature. Working papers are not formally peer-reviewed, but are intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on current and relevant areas.
