Implicit Stereotypes

Implicit biases are particularly relevant to the law enforcement decision-making process because they link certain groups with traits related to crime and violence. For example, stereotypes linking African American adolescents to aggression suggest that people precieve behavior by an African American youth as more aggressive than behavior similarily displayed with white adolescents, in addition to violence, danger and hostility [citation-Duncan 1976]. These same stereotypes indicate an aspect of criminality, which is particularily important when assessing whether a suspect poses a threat to personal safety. Furthermore, research suggests that the race of an adolecent will influence these perceptions of threat [citation-Devine 1995]. As first point of contact, law enforcement
A 2004 review of race, crime, and visual processing by Eberhardt demonstrated that both law enforcement and college students identify crime-related objects more easily after seeing African American faces and focus on African American faces when the conept of crime was triggered, suggesting that law enforcement are more likely to think about crime when in the presences of African Americans and more likely to focus on African Americans when they are thinking about crime [citation Eberhardt]. With policing, unconsious attituteds has resulted in widespread practices emphasizing undeserved suspicion on minority groups while presuming other groups as innoncent in addition to disproporitionately impacting the juvenile justice system. Nonetheless, implicit biases affect how law enforcement percieve and treat juvenile offenders. While law enforcement are afforded considerable power and discretion, it is important to understand that these stereotypes can potentially impact decsion-making and