Canadian Rural Youth and Role Tension of the Police: ‘It’s Hard in a Small Town’

Abstract

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.

Young People in Newfoundland and Labrador: Community Connectedness and Opportunities for Social Inclusion

“…For example, research has shown that policing practices affecting young people, such as stop-and-search, constitute barriers to their social participation (D. M. Brown, 2013; Brunson & Miller, 2006; Francis, 2021; Kennelly, 2011; Murray et al, 2021; Ricciardelli et al, 2020; Sharp & Atherton, 2007). However, participants of this study did not mention any encounters with law enforcers, such as the police, in describing barriers to inclusion.…”

“…According to P. Kelly (2003), increasingly, there is a "generalized and institutionalized anxiety and mistrust in relation to the capacities of today's young people to make the transition to adulthood" (p. 166). The consequence is to criminalize young people for policing in order to keep public spaces sanitized (D. M. Brown, 2013;Brunson & Miller, 2006;Francis, 2021;Kennelly, 2011;Murray et al, 2021;Ricciardelli et al, 2020;Sharp & Atherton, 2007).…”

“…The consequence is to criminalize young people for policing in order to keep public spaces sanitized (D. M. Brown, 2013; Brunson & Miller, 2006; Francis, 2021; Kennelly, 2011; Murray et al, 2021; Ricciardelli et al, 2020; Sharp & Atherton, 2007).…”

7. Nacionalna konferenca o varnosti v lokalnih skupnostih : Policijsko delo v skupnosti in zagotavljanje varnosti v lokalnih skupnostih: konferenčni zbornik

“…Z zadovoljstvom s policijo je povezana starost prebivalcev in njihove predhodne izkušnje s policijo (Hwang et al, 2005;Lytle in Bolger, 2017). Raziskava v Kanadi je pokazala, da mladi v manjši meri zaupajo policistom, ki so bolj vpeti v skupnost, saj menijo, da so lahko bolj pristranski (Ricciardelli, Adorjan in Spencer, 2020). Mlade prestopnike policisti različno obravnavajo, glede na vrsto kaznivega dejanja in nespoštljivo vedenje mladostnikov.…”

Under-serving the Over-represented: Indigenous Peoples' Access to Specialized Courts

“…Alternatively, the program is offered in a location (often rural or remote) where the program has broad service offerings, occasionally with the opportunities to offer personalized support to individual clients based on their needs. Generally, these services do their best with the resources available to them but lack the resources to provide targeted or specialized programming (Higginbottom et al, 2016;Levasseur et al, 2015;Ricciardelli, Adorjan, & Spencer, 2020). For example, a more remote community might have the resources to support a client through detox but is unable to offer long-term programming in addictions support or sobriety maintenance.…”