Discover the police-youth dialogue (PYD) as a method to build trustworthiness, mend relationships, and heal historical harms between black youth and law enforcement.
This timely book from the Justice and Peacebuilding series offers an explanation of the need for meaningful dialogue between law enforcement and black youth, a blueprint for implementing police-youth dialogues, best practices and examples, anecdotes and narratives from participants, different models and formats, potholes and limitations, and tangible tools and action steps for starting a police-youth dialogue program. Ultimately, the strategies and techniques used in effective police-youth dialogues can bring attention to issues of implicit bias and the impact of toxic stress on marginalized groups, ameliorate tensions between law enforcement officers and black youth, and build toward a model of community policing and restorative justice rather than punitive discipline and violence.
The Little Book of Police-Youth Dialogue presents readers with relevant knowledge and research regarding trauma and race in the United States, strategies for creating a safe space of attentive listening and mediating genuine connections between police officers and black youth, and specific ways to take action in ameliorating police-youth tensions and promoting healing in their local communities.
Dr. Micah E. Johnson is a sociologist trained in criminology and psychiatric epidemiology. He serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida. Dr. Johnson’s research centers around childhood trauma, behavioral health, and juvenile justice. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health. He has been an advocate for social justice for the past 14 years. Dr. Johnson trains, speaks, and teaches internationally on topics related to trauma, poverty, antiracism, and sustainable peace. He is a pioneer of applied forensic sociology. He founded Johnson Forensic Services and serves in the state and federal court system as an expert witness and facilitator. His philanthropic and research interests in these areas are fueled by his childhood experiences. Dr. Johnson also leverages his artistry, as a poet, monologist, and speaker, to share his peacebuilding efforts with a broader audience. For information on his research, talks or forensic services, contact DoctorMicahJohnson@gmail.com or www.DoctorMicahJohnson.com.
DR. JOHNSON possess the determination, expertise, and the access to resources necessary to successfully fulfill the responsibilities and expectations as the PI of the COACH intervention and proposed research activities. DR. JOHNSON has a comprehensive background in sociology, criminology, child development, and social epidemiology, with specific training and expertise in conducting ethnographies, survey research, and secondary data analysis on emotional and behavioral issues associated with justice involved children. In particular, DR. JOHNSON has published multiple papers about suicidal distress as well as the disadvantage, victimization, and other risk factors experienced by justice-involved children. DR. JOHNSON has also published three articles illustrating the diverse emotional and behavioral consequences of childhood trauma. This research –showing that trauma is linked to less positive relationships, severe delinquency, and suicidal distress—sets the foundation for the proposed project on suicidal distress prevention research among JIC.
DR. JOHNSON has served as a NIH T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the NIDA Substance Abuse Training Center in Public Health in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Florida. DR. JOHNSON’s primary research lab is the STOMP lab for undergraduates, pre- and postdoctoral researchers and the Disparities Among Justice-Involved Children Research Lab. These labs serve to advance research investigating health disparities among Justice-Involved Children.
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