This article presents findings from a case study examining youth perceptions of the police in rural areas of Eastern Canada. A total of 20 semistructured focus group discussions were conducted with 60 youth from Canadian rural Atlantic areas, who were purposively recruited, with groups stratified by age and gender. Discussions centered on role tension regarding the police’s role, that is, along a continuum between law enforcement and public protection versus community policing and crime prevention. Our discussions highlight the arguably ironic view that it is harder to maintain trust when there are strong personal relations with the police. Discussions highlight the ‘pros and cons’ of informal familiarity with police officers, especially the presence of school resource officers and policing in the context of monitoring youth on modes of transportation germane to rural Atlantic Canada (i.e. skidoos). Implications from this study suggest that when dealing with youth, identifying and addressing youth perceptions of the police role can help improve police–youth interactions.
AdorjanMRicciardelliRSpencerDC (2017) Youth perspectives of police in a rural atlantic province. Journal of Police Research and Practice: An International Journal18(6): 556–569. doi: 10.1080/15614263.2017.1363961
2.
AdorjanMRicciardelliR (2018) Cyber-risk and Youth: Digital Citizenship, Privacy and Surveillance. Abingdon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
3.
BeckerH (1963) Outsiders. Toronto, ON, Canada: Collier-Macmillan Canada.
4.
BergB (2004) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, 5th Edition. Long Beach, CA: Pearson.
5.
BradfordB (2014) Policing and social identity: Procedural justice, inclusion and cooperation between police and public. Policing and Society24(1): 22–43.
6.
BradfordB (2015) Unintended consequences. In: ShinerMDelsolR (eds) Stop and Search: The Anatomy of a Police Power. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 102–122.
7.
BrandlSGFrankJWordenREBynumTS (1994) Global and specific attitudes toward the police: Disentangling the relationship. Justice Quarterly11(1): 119–134.
8.
BrickBTaylorTEsbensenFA (2009) Juvenile attitudes towards the police: The importance of subcultural involvement and community ties. Journal of Criminal Justice37(5): 488–495.
9.
BrownBBenedictWR (2005) Classroom cops, what do the students think? A case study of student perceptions of school police and security officers conducted in an Hispanic community. International Journal of Police Science & Management7(4): 264–285.
10.
CancinoJEnriquezR (2004) A qualitative analysis of officer peer retaliation: Preserving the police culture. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management27(3): 320–340.
11.
ChengH (2015) Factors influencing public satisfaction with the local police: A study in Saskatoon, Canada. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management38(4): 690–704.
12.
ChowH (2011) Adolescent attitudes toward the police in a western Canadian city. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management34(4): 638–653.
13.
ChowH (2012) Attitudes towards police in Canada: A study of perceptions of university students in a Western Canadian City. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences7(1): 508–523.
14.
ClairmontD (1991) Community-based policing: Implementation and impact. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice33(3–4): 469–484.
15.
ConnellRW (1987) Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
DeucharR (2009) Gangs, Marginalised Youth and Social Capital. Bristol: ERIC.
18.
DeucharR (2010) ‘It’s just pure harassment . . . As if it’s a crime to walk in the street’: Anti-social behaviour, youth justice and citizenship – the reality for young men in the east end of Glasgow. Youth Justice10(3): 258–274.
19.
DonnermeyerJ (2015) The social organisation of the rural and crime in the United States: Conceptual considerations. Journal of Rural Studies39: 160–170.
20.
DonnermeyerJDeKeseredyW (2013) Rural Criminology. New York: Routledge.
21.
FieldingN (2005) Concepts and theory in community policing. The Howard Journal44(5): 460–472.
22.
FineMFreudenbergNPayneYPerkinsTSmithKWanzerK (2003) ‘Anything can happen with police around’: Urban youth evaluate strategies of surveillance in public places. Journal of Social Issues59(1): 141–158.
23.
FlacksS (2017) The stop and search of minors: A ‘vital police tool’?Criminology and Criminal Justice18(3): 364–384.
24.
FormanJJ (2004) Community policing and youth assets. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology95(1): 1–48.
25.
GoldsmithA (2005) Police reform and the problem of trust. Theoretical Criminology9(4): 443–470.
26.
GrayDManningR (2014) ‘Oh my god, we’re not doing nothing’: Young people’s experiences of spatial regulation. British Journal of Social Psychology53(4): 640–655.
27.
GreeneJMastrofskiS (1988) Community Policing: Rhetoric or Reality. New York: Praeger.
28.
GrovesJHoWYSiuK (2012) Youth studies and timescapes: Insights from an ethnographic study of ‘young night drifters’ in Hong Kong’s public housing estates. Youth & Society44(4): 548–566.
29.
HindsL (2009) Youth, police legitimacy and informal contact. Journal of Policy and Criminal Psychology24(1): 10–21.
30.
HoggMAReidSA (2001) Social identity, leadership, and power. In: Lee-ChaiAYBarghJA (eds) The Use and Abuse of Power: Multiple Perspectives on the Causes of Corruption. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press, 159–180.
31.
HueyLRicciardelliR (2015) ‘This isn’t what I signed up for’: When police officer role expectations conflict with the realities of general duty police work in remote communities. International Journal of Police Science & Management17(3): 194–203. DOI: 10.1177/1461355715603.
32.
HurstY (2007) Juvenile attitudes toward the police: An examination of rural youth. Criminal Justice Review32(2): 121–141.
33.
JacksonA (2002) Police-school resource officers’ and students’ perception of the police and offending. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management25(3): 631–650.
34.
JacksonJBradfordB (2010) What is trust and confidence in the police?Policing4(3): 241–248.
35.
JamesRKLoganJDavisSA (2011) Including school resource officers in school-based crisis intervention: Strengthening student support. School Psychology International32(2): 210–224.
36.
KellyKCaputoT (2011) Community: A Contemporary Analysis of Policies, Programs, and Practices. Toronto, ON, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
37.
KennellyJ (2011) Policing young people as citizens-in-waiting: Legitimacy, spatiality and governance. British Journal of Criminology51(2): 336–354.
38.
McAraLMcVieS (2005) The usual suspects? Street-life, young people and the police. Criminal Justice5(1): 5–36.
39.
MadrizE (1997) Nothing Bad Happens to Good Girls: Fear of Crime in Women’s Lives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
40.
MadrizE (2000) Focus groups in Feminist research. In: DenzinNLincolnY (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 835–850.
41.
MaierSL (2014) Rape, Victims, and Investigations: Experiences and Perceptions of Law Enforcement Officers Responding to Reported Rapes. New York: Routledge.
42.
ManningP (1977) Police Work. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
43.
ManningP (2010a) Democratic Policing in a Changing World. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.
44.
ManningP (2010b) Policing Contingencies. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
45.
MorganD (1997) Focus Groups as Qualitative Research, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
46.
NayakA (2003) ‘Through children’s eyes’: Childhood, place and the fear of crime. Geoforum34(3): 303–315.
47.
NovichMHuntG (2017) ‘Get off me’: Perceptions of disrespectful police behaviour among ethnic minority youth gang members. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy24(3): 248–255.
48.
O’ConnorC (2008) Citizen attitudes toward the police in Canada. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management31(4): 578–595.
49.
OsgoodDWChambersJM (2000) Social disorganization outside the metropolis: An analysis of rural youth violence. Criminology38(1): 81–116.
50.
PetersonA (2008) Who ‘owns’ the streets? Ritual performances of respect and authority in interactions between young men and police officers. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention9(2): 97–118.
51.
RicciardelliRAdorjanM (2019) “If a girl’s photo gets sent around, that’s a way bigger deal than if a guy’s photo gets sent around”: Gender, sexting, and the teenage years. Journal of Gender Studies28(5): 563–577.
52.
RobergR (1994) Can today’s police organizations effectively implement community policing? In: RosenbaumD (ed) The Challenge of Community Policing: Testing the Promises. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 249–257.
53.
SharkeyAShieldsR (2008) Abject citizenship: Rethinking exclusion and inclusion: Participation, criminality and community at a small town youth centre. Children’s Geographies6(3): 239–256.
54.
SpencerDDodgeARicciardelliRBallucciD (2018) ‘I think it’s re-victimizing victims almost every time’: Police perceptions of criminal justice responses to sexual violence. Critical Criminology26(2): 189–209.
55.
StewartDShamdasaniPRookD (2007) Focus Groups, Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition. London: SAGE.
56.
StraussACorbinJ (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
57.
SunshineJTylerT (2003) The role of procedural justice and legitimacy in shaping public support for policing. Law & Society Review37(3): 513–548.
58.
TaylorTTurnerKEsbensenFAWinfreeLT (2001) Coppin’ an attitude: Attitudinal differences among juveniles toward police. Journal of Criminal Justice29(4): 295–305.
59.
TheriotMT (2016) The impact of school resource officer interaction on students’ feelings about school and school police. Crime & Delinquency62(4): 446–469.
60.
TravisLFCoonJK (2005) The Role of Law Enforcement in Public School Safety: A National Survey. Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati, Center for Criminal Justice Research.
61.
TwinnS (1998) An analysis of the effectiveness of focus groups as a method of qualitative data collection with Chinese populations in nursing research. Journal of Advanced Nursing28(3): 654–661.
62.
ValentineG (1996) Angels and devils: The moral landscape of childhood. Environment Planning D: Society and Space14(5): 581–599.
63.
ValentineG (2017) Public Space and the Culture of Childhood. London: Routledge.
64.
WebsdaleN (1998) Rural Women Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
65.
WeisheitRFalconeDWellsE (1994a) Rural Crime and Rural Policing. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
66.
WeisheitRWellsEFalconeD (1994b) Community policing in small town and rural America. Crime and Delinquency40(4): 549–567.
67.
WestCZimmermanD (1987) Doing gender. Gender and Society9: 8–37.
68.
WortleySOwusu-BempahA (2011) The usual suspects: Police stop and search practices in Canada. Policing and Society21(4): 395–407.
69.
YatesJ (2006) ‘You just don’t grass’: Youth, crime and ‘grassing’ in a working class community. Youth Justice6(3): 195–210.
70.
ZhaoJLovrichNRobinsonH (2001) Community policing: Is it changing the basic functions of policing? Findings from a longitudinal study of 200+ municipal police agencies. Criminal Justice29(5): 365–377.
