TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Canadian rural youth and role tension of the police: 'it's hard in a small town'
JO  - Youth justice
A1  - Ricciardelli, Rosemary
A1  - Adorjan, Michael
A1  - Spencer, Dale
SP  - 199
EP  - 214
VL  - 20
IS  - 3
N2  - 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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.    Keywords: Juvenile justice <p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1473-2254
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1473225419872406
ID  - ref1
ER  -