This study investigates the effect of warrior and guardian mindsets on attitudes toward use of force among US police recruits.
Through structural equation modeling, this study analyzed attitudinal survey data using a multi-agency sample of police recruits from the USA and found that recruits with a warrior mindset have more favorable views toward using force. In contrast, recruits who embody a guardian mindset have less favorable views toward the use of force. Specific findings, study limitations, and implications for reform are discussed. Recently, several highly publicized and troubling police-citizen encounters around the USA have led many to question not only police tactics but also, more broadly, police legitimacy. These events, among others, led President Obama to create a Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Part of its focus was on fostering legitimacy through community policing and a service-oriented approach to policing practices, and one of its recommendations to enhance legitimacy in the eyes of the public was to call upon the police to embrace a guardian mindset. Part of their reasoning was that officers who adopt a guardian mindset should be less likely to have an ‘us versus them’ worldview and less likely to overly use aggressive, coercive, and physical tactics (i.e. use of force) against the public. (Published Abstract Provided)