Voices Matter: The Impact of Serious Legal Problems on 16- to 30-year-olds in the Black Community

Executive Summary

This qualitative research study examined the impact of serious legal problems on 16- to 30-year-olds in the Black community in Toronto and Ottawa. The methodology is rooted in an intersectional understanding of people’s experience of legal conflict and public services. The study recognizes the fluid and emerging nature of participants’ understanding of the legal implications of issues in their lives.

Data collection happened in two stages. Participants were first asked to complete an online survey that collected demographic data about their age and racial self-identification to confirm membership in the target research group. Participants answered demographic questions and questions on employment, family structure, housing, and use of financial products before they were asked to identify if they have had different categories of serious legal problems in the previous three years. Participants who disclosed serious legal problems and met the eligibility criteria participated in online focus groups. A narrative focus group structure, spurred by scenario-based examples, invited participants to share their experiences. Thirty-four people completed the online survey, all but one of whom met the age and racial identity criteria. Twenty-six people participated in the focus groups.

Context

All stages of this research happened during the COVID-pandemic-related changes to social and professional gatherings. Survey respondents, focus group participants, and researchers all took part virtually.

This research looked specifically at the experiences of people who identify as Black. Their racial identity and the differential impact of legal problems is the key inquiry in this research. The death of George Floyd and the subsequent #BlackLivesMatter protests happened after the study was launched, but before the first focus group was held. Protests focused attention on police killings of Black and Indigenous people in Canada and on systemic racism issues in the Canadian criminal justice system. All participants and the researchers had a heightened awareness of the discussions of systemic racism in the justice system and in society as a whole.