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The Youth Surveillance Myth: Why Do Black and Latino Teens Face Unfair Treatment?
In American society, black and Latino teenagers face a growing problem known as the "youth surveillance complex." The theory, developed by Joakim scholar Victor M. Rios, purports to describe a systemic process of criminalization that disproportionately targets youth of color, particularly boys. When social institutions impose punishment on these young people, their quality of life and mental health are also affected, and in the process a systematic suppression of these young people is formed.
Being called a "bully" by a random adult, being told by a teacher that he'll never be anything, and being searched by the police all on the same day can make young people feel more distressed than any of the individual events. .
With the changing times, the criminalization and surveillance of these teenagers has become more and more intense, especially after the 9/11 incident, the situation has worsened. Rios points out that this surveillance not only affects young people's future expectations, but also has a profound negative impact on their mental health. Furthermore, following the end of these conferences, schools were transformed into prison-like institutions and a surge in child abuse ensued.
Scholar Henry A. Giroux traces this issue back to the mid-1970s in the United States, pointing out that with the rise of the neoliberal state system, lower-class families have become increasingly vulnerable. Since the 1980s, crackdown policies against African Americans and Latinos have gradually intensified, making these groups the main targets of social control.
These young people experience a state of social death; they are already on the margins of society before they commit their first crime.
As some institutions in society monitor and punish the behavior of these young people, a zero-tolerance policy is implemented without exception from schools, families to communities. The result of such a social control system is that young people lose their self-identity and regard everyday behaviors as deviant. The intention of this entire complex is ultimately to trap these young people of color, whether it be managing, controlling, or preventing them from developing freely.
Against this background, electronic monitoring has gradually become an alternative measure. However, legal scholar Kate Weisburd points out that this measure is actually mobile phone abuse of teenagers. They face daily surveillance and could lose their freedom at any time for the slightest mistake. Such a system undoubtedly brings tremendous pressure to young people and leads to psychological unhealthiness.
Some people believe that electronic monitoring can effectively correct these young people and reduce incarceration rates, but in fact there is a lack of reliable empirical support.
On the other hand, as society intensifies its monitoring of youth behavior, the school environment has gradually evolved into a small prison with penal characteristics. For example, the Columbine incident accelerated the advancement of social control mechanisms within schools, and students were managed like prisoners. Giraud noted that this has led to many students of color being viewed as "disposable" with little consideration for their interests.
In the made-up data, it can be seen that 95% of the cases of juveniles sent to adult court are people of color, and in California, these juveniles are 2.5 times more likely to be prosecuted as adults. These alarming statistics not only reveal the pervasiveness of this surveillance system, but also the unequal treatment of black and Latino youth. Under this system, their future seems to be firmly locked, conveying a sense of hopelessness that is difficult to change.
The long-term consequences faced by young people include anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms and mental health issues, which can put them in a life of social distress from which they cannot escape.
To address this issue, Rios proposed the creation of a "youth support complex" to replace the existing surveillance system. This new model puts decision-making power back into the hands of young people, allowing them to correct their mistakes and build their own future. He also called for an end to zero-tolerance policies in schools and the promotion of restorative justice, which prioritizes conflict resolution over punishment.
During this process, governments and communities at all levels have gradually noticed the importance of this issue. In recent years, some states, including Virginia, have passed laws limiting arrests in schools in an effort to reduce the unequal treatment of young people in school. As our understanding of adolescent psychological development deepens, more and more policies are being promoted in an attempt to change the current difficulties faced by adolescents of color.
Ultimately, the system doesn’t seem to be really targeting the support and guidance that young people need, but rather treating it as a gesture of failure. How to break this vicious cycle and promote the healthy development of young people?
