Historical Redlining and Contemporary Violent Victimization Over the Life Course.

INTRODUCTION: This study assesses the relationship between living in historically redlined communities and the incidence of violent victimization and examines differences in this relationship across race and ethnicity. METHODS: Data are from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) from Waves I (1994-1995; ages 12-17), III (2001; ages 18-26), IV (2008-2009; ages 24-32), and V (2016-2018; ages 34-44). Multi-level, within-between regression models were used to assess the relationship between residence in historically redlined areas and violent victimization from adolescence to adulthood. The study includes 8,266 participants, and data analysis was conducted in 2024. RESULTS: Respondents who lived in redlined areas throughout adolescence and adulthood reported a 4.8% higher average probability of violent victimization relative to those who never lived in redlined areas. Respondents who moved from a non-redlined to a redlined area across waves also reported a 2.2% higher probability of victimization, on average. Although Black and Hispanic respondents were significantly more likely than their White peers to live in a redlined area and report violent victimization at each stage of the life course, the probability of experiencing victimization while living in a redlined area was similar between racial and ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the profound and enduring consequences of New Deal-era redlining policies for present-day safety, emphasizing the urgent need to confront and rectify historical injustices to enhance contemporary safety and well-being.

National Burden of Injury and Deaths From Shootings by Police in the United States, 2015‒2020.

Objectives. To describe all-outcome injurious shootings by police and compare characteristics of fatal versus nonfatal injurious shootings nationally. Methods. From July 2021 to April 2023, we manually reviewed publicly available records on all 2015-2020 injurious shootings by US police, identified from Gun Violence Archive. We estimated injury frequency, case fatality rates, and relative odds of death by incident and victim characteristics. Results. A total of 1769 people were injured annually in shootings by police, 55% fatally. When a shooting injury occurred, odds of fatality were 46% higher following dispatched responses than police-initiated responses. Injuries associated with physically threatening or threat-making behaviors, behavioral health needs, and well-being checks were most frequently fatal. Relative to White victims, Black victims were overrepresented but had 35% lower odds of fatal injury when shot. Conclusions. This first multiyear, nationwide analysis of injurious shootings by US police suggests that injury disparities are underestimated by fatal shootings alone. Nonpolicing responses to social needs may prevent future injuries. Public Health Implications. We call for enhanced reporting systems, comprehensive evaluation of emerging reforms, and targeted investment in social services for equitable injury prevention. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(4):387-397. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307560).

How neighborhoods matter in fatal interactions between police and men of color.

This article addresses the concern that death by legal intervention is a health outcome disproportionately experienced by boys and men of color, and predicated on the quality of the locations in which encounters with law enforcement occur. Using a more comprehensive cross-verified sample of police homicides from online databases and a nationally representative sample of law enforcement agencies, this study examines whether neighborhood social disorganization, minority threat, and defense of inequality theories help explain the odds that males of color will have a fatal interaction with police (FIP). There are several noteworthy results. First, in support of the defense of inequality thesis, we found that income inequality within the area in which a FIP occurred is related to increased relative odds of fatal injury for males of color and Hispanic males. Second, consistent with the minority threat thesis, we found low levels of racial segregation dramatically reduced the odds of a FIP for Black males while higher levels of segregation increased the odds for Hispanic males. Third, Hispanic males were over 2.6 times as likely as others to be killed by officers from agencies with relatively higher percentages of Hispanic officers. We conclude the study with a discussion of its implications for research and policy.