Assessing Safety and Perceptions of Law Enforcement among Immigrant and Refugee Youth

Background

The Alliance for Refugee Youth Support and Education (ARYSE) provides critical support and advocacy for immigrant and refugee youth, addressing systemic issues such as institutionalized racism, police violence, and xenophobia. Following multiple incidents involving police violence in Pittsburgh, ARYSE sought data-driven insights into the safety and well-being of its students within their homes, neighborhoods, and schools.

Project Details

In partnership with ARYSE, the SUDS team conducted a rigorous analysis to measure safety perceptions among youth identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), focusing specifically on immigrant and refugee communities. The project involved:

• Data Collection and Analysis: Gathering and analyzing demographic and policing data across relevant Pittsburgh neighborhoods, including Crafton Heights, Northview Heights, and East Liberty.
• Ordinal Safety Scale Development: Creating a customized, ordinal scale to accurately capture and measure subjective perceptions of safety among youth under the age of 18 who identify as BIPOC.
• Policing and Safety Correlation: Investigating the relationship between neighborhood policing intensity and students’ reported feelings of safety, identifying clear patterns and areas of concern.
• Immigrant/Refugee Impact Analysis: Examining the specific influence of immigrant or refugee status on youths’ perceptions and attitudes toward law enforcement, safety, and community engagement.
• Safe Space Identification: Leveraging findings to identify neighborhoods or spaces within Pittsburgh that youth perceive as safer, informing ARYSE’s strategic decisions for programming and advocacy.

Deliverables

• Detailed Safety Analysis Report: Comprehensive data-driven assessment detailing the relationship between policing practices, demographic factors, and perceived safety.
• Interactive Safety Visualization: Accessible GIS-based visualizations clearly illustrating safety perceptions and policing intensity across relevant Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
• Ordinal Scale Methodology: A clearly documented method for assessing youth perceptions of safety, adaptable for continued ARYSE data collection and analysis.
• Recommendations and Insights: Strategic recommendations to help ARYSE target interventions and advocacy efforts effectively, enhancing student safety and well-being.

Outcomes

The analysis significantly strengthened ARYSE’s ability to advocate for safer, more inclusive environments for immigrant and refugee youth. Clear, actionable insights enabled ARYSE to better understand the impact of policing on student perceptions of safety, identify community needs, and strategically allocate resources and advocacy efforts. By documenting the intersection of policing and community safety from youth perspectives, ARYSE positioned itself to drive meaningful policy discussions and influence positive community changes in Pittsburgh.