Examining the effect of warrior and guardian mindsets on attitudes toward use of force: an analysis of US police recruits

Abstract

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. To test this assertion, attitudinal survey data are analyzed using a multi-agency sample of police recruits from the USA. Structural equation modeling results demonstrate 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.

INTRODUCTION

Police use of force is a contemporary problem with historical roots, and an officer’s ability to use force has been a topic of debate since the inception of formalized police agencies in the USA in the 1830s (e.g. Skolnick and Fyfe 1993). Recent uses of force, particularly excessive uses of force and officer-involved shootings of unarmed citizens, have gained widespread media attention. These incidents have ignited conversations across the country about police behavior and served as the catalyst for a presidential commission on police culture, policy, training, and reform (President’s Task Force 2015). Calls for a fundamental shift in police culture have often centered around officers’ mindsets and how they view their role within society. While using force is a critical part of an officer’s job, it can have tragic consequences for the officer, agency, profession, and community, especially when such force is unjustified. Therefore, researchers and practitioners alike must continually examine the etiology of not only uses of force but also attitudes toward the use of force, as doing so can help police administrators implement better policies to guide officer attitudes (and, potentially, their behavior).

One such factor worthy of empirical examination in the context of officer attitudes toward using force is the police culture. Particularly important is the influence of ‘warrior’ and ‘guardian’ mindset. These mindsets have received renewed attention over the last decade as the policing profession has endured a legitimacy crisis (e.g. President’s Task Force 2015). Indeed, a small, but growing, body of scholarship has explored elements of the police culture, including officer mindset and role orientation, to explain officer behavior (e.g. Paoline et al., 2021). Compared to the larger police culture, however, studies assessing the relationship between officer mindset and use of force attitudes are less abundant as it is a relatively newer area of inquiry (e.g. McCarthy et al., 2023; McLean et al., 2023). This is particularly true when specifically considering (1) warrior and guardian mindsets and (2) recruits’ attitudes. Building on previous research, this study contributes to the literature by investigating the relationship between warrior and guardian mindsets and attitudes toward using force among a geographically diverse sample of recruits from academies around the USA (n = 1,072). Studying recruits improves researchers’ ability to understand how these attitudes are imported into policing, which will allow police administrators to better tailor reform efforts to change these attitudes—and eventual behavior of officers.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Officer attitudes toward use of force

Using force is often a necessary part of the police’s role to perform their societal mandates of law enforcement and order maintenance. In fact, Bittner (1990) argues that the capacity to use force is the defining feature of American police. While it is important to understand the factors influencing the decision to actually use force, focusing exclusively on incidents in which officers use force is limited by at least three factors. First, the legal rules and policies that regulate the use of force are driven by several factors that are affected by the context (e.g. subject resistance, officer tools, characteristics of the situation) in which the use of force occurs (Alpert and Dunham 2004). We know of no publicly available data that consistently and adequately captures these factors validly and reliably. Second, and relatedly, even if such data did exist, it would be methodologically difficult to perform a quantitative analysis of this data. Specifically, given the research question of this study, one would need attitudinal and behavioral data. The data would be collected at disparate time points, threatening the validity of any relationship between the two data points. Third, research generally finds support positively linking attitudes to behavior, although the relationship is not perfect (e.g. Kraus 1995; Glasman and Albarracín 2006). The link between attitudes and behavior may be especially true in situations where a person needs to make a decision quickly to keep themselves safe from danger (Kahneman 2011). Consequently, officers who hold positive attitudes toward using force more generally may be more likely to use force when decisions need to be made quickly—even after accounting for other situationally relevant factors (e.g. Maskaly and Donner 2015).

Although there is variability in officers’ attitudes toward force, it should be noted that the extant research provides some evidence for officers’ favorable views of force and even a tolerance for excessive force. For example, Corbett et al. (1979) found that 22% of officers surveyed agreed that there are times when it would be better for an officer to take the law into his own hands rather than handing the suspect over to the court system, while Ten Brink and Lester (1984) found that just over half of officers surveyed reported that they would participate in the street execution of a suspected cop killer. Similarly, 25% of officers reported that it is sometimes acceptable for officers to use more force than legally allowed (Weisburd et al., 2000). More recently, Hickman et al. (2016) reported that only 10% of officers agreed that some people should get ‘street justice’ after hurting an officer because that is the only real punishment they will get. Finally, and more germane to the present study, Phillips’ (2015) research studying recruits found that 16% of the sample agreed that a vignette depicting an occurrence of unnecessary force was acceptable.

Beyond simply exploring the extent to which officers have favorable attitudes toward the use of force, prior research has attempted to explain officers’ attitudes toward the use of force. Related to the police culture, several of these studies are relevant. Research from Burke and Mikkelsen (2005) suggests that officers with higher cynicism had more favorable attitudes toward using force. Silver et al. (2017) found that officers with a higher orientation toward ‘traditional police culture’ (as measured by survey items reflecting cynicism, noble cause corruption, code of silence, group solidarity, and proactive policing) were more likely to support the use of force. Finally, Marier and Moule (2019) demonstrated that officers with higher perceived public antipathy were more likely to support physical coercion tactics.

Police culture: warrior and guardian mindsets

While the above studies provide an introduction to better understanding officers’ attitudes toward using force, it is important to delve deeper into the police culture and examine the topic of warrior and guardian mindsets as a viable explanation for such attitudes. In general, traditional police culture presents itself as a particular set of values, beliefs, and acceptable forms of behavior characteristic of American policing. Among these values are loyalty, secrecy, trust of colleagues, suspicion of the public, bravery, and officer safety (e.g. Herbert 1998; Paoline 2003). Through official (academy, field, and in-service) and unofficial (‘hidden curricula’) training, officers are socialized into a culture that teaches them how to think about their job and their role in society (e.g. White 2006).

It is easy to conflate traditional notions of police culture with the readily identifiable commonalities with the warrior mindset (e.g. Van Maanen 1974). However, there are three reasons to suspect that police culture is not synonymous with the warrior mindset. First, as Paoline (2003) argues, the existence of a monolithic police culture is likely overstated. It is likely in flux as policing adapts to the realities of the twenty-firstst century (see also Paoline and Gau 2017). Second, and relatedly, there is clear evidence that the police culture and officer mindsets are distinct, yet related, concepts (Fenn and Bullock 2022). For example, research shows that the adoption of community policing is possible within police organizations that still exude traditional indicators of police culture (Paoline et al., 2000), and the specific reason for this may be due to heterogeneity in the attitudes and motivations of the officers within the same agency (Cochran and Bromley 2003). Third, some effectively argue that the false dichotomy of assuming officers exclusively yield to one mindset over another is inconsistent with the reality of modern policing (e.g. McLean et al., 2020). Taken as a whole, the evidence suggests that while police culture can play a pivotal role in the formation (and reinforcement) of officer mindsets, the two concepts are not synonymous.

In the current police legitimacy crisis, an emerging debate has centered around warrior and guardian mindsets. Rahr and Rice (2015, pp. 3–4) succinctly describe each: ‘The guardian operates as part of the community, demonstrating empathy and employing procedural justice principles during interactions. The behavior of the warrior cop, on the other hand, leads to the perception of an occupying force, detached and separated from the community, missing opportunities to build trust and confidence based on positive interactions’. Others have similarly characterized the guardian officer as prioritizing quality communication with the public, de-escalation tactics, treating citizens with respect, and community service. In contrast, the warrior officer prioritizes taking control over situations, aggressive crime-fighting, coercing citizens into compliance, and unapologetically enforcing the law (e.g. Balko 2014; Stoughton 2016; McLean et al., 2020; McCarthy et al., 2023). Suffice it to say that officers who embody each mindset tend to see their role in society—and how they interact with the public—distinctly.

Prior research has attempted to measure these policing orientations, their antecedents, and their consequences (e.g. Koslicki 2021; McLean et al., 2020; Murphy and McCarthy 2023). This line of scholarship has found that warrior and guardian mindsets are measurable and conceptually distinct, that officers adopt these different policing orientations, and that they can sometimes identify with both orientations simultaneously (e.g. McLean et al., 2020). McLean and colleagues (2020: 1100) further argue that ‘guardian orientations are superior to warrior mindsets because the former is more likely to produce attitudes, behaviors, and interactions primed for cultivating public trust and support. The latter, however, is more likely to be viewed by citizens as overly aggressive and unsympathetic to their needs’. Prior studies have supported this notion. For example, research has found that officers who embrace a warrior mindset tend to approach their jobs more aggressively. They show that warrior officers tend to be more likely to support the use of force when compared to those who embrace a guardian orientation (e.g. Silver et al., 2017; McLean et al., 2020; Strah et al., 2023). On the other hand, this line of research generally demonstrates that guardian officers were more likely to value using communication as a priority in citizen interactions and hold more negative attitudes toward using force. A recent study from McCarthy et al. (2023) confirmed these findings among Australian officers as well.

Current study

A small body of research has previously explored warrior and guardian mindsets and their impact on the use of force; however, those studies have overwhelmingly utilized samples of officers. Much less is known about the mindset and attitudes of individuals entering the policing profession. Do recruits come in with a priori warrior or guardian mindsets? If so, do those mindsets affect their pre-service attitudes toward the use of force? This study explores these questions. Specifically, we examine recruits’ attitudes toward using force within the context of warrior and guardian mindsets.¹ Based on theory and prior research (e.g. Balko 2014; Rahr and Rice 2015; Stoughton 2016; McCarthy et al., 2023), we hypothesize that recruits with higher levels of warrior mindset will have more agreeable attitudes toward the use of force, whereas recruits with higher levels of guardian mindset will have less agreeable attitudes toward the use of force.

METHODS

Data and sample

The data for this study were collected between 2009 and 2011 as part of the first phase of the National Police Research Platform (e.g. Rosenbaum 2010). A sample of police recruits (n = 1,072) from five training academies throughout the USA agreed to participate in the longitudinal project. The academies were selected based on the willingness of the training staff and the organization’s command staff to participate in the project. Three academies represented large agencies (sworn personnel > 500). Specifically, Academy 1 was located in the midwestern USA, Academy 2 was in the western USA, Academy 3 was in the southern USA, and thefourth academy represented a large sheriff’s office (sworn personnel > 500) located in the southeastern USA The fifth academy was a regional academy that served most agencies in a single southern state.² All of the participants were recruits hired by their agency and attending their respective training academies (N_Academy1 = 310; N_Academy2 = 484; N_Academy3 = 95; N_Academy4 = 63; N_Academy5 = 120).

The data used in this study come from a paper-and-pencil survey of recruits during the first week of the training academy, and the response rates for all five training sites were greater than 95%. Members of the research team conducted the administration of the survey, and agency/academy personnel were asked to leave the room during data collection. The baseline survey consisted of questions across many domains about the recruits’ experiences prior to joining the department and their expectations of the job. The survey took approximately one hour to complete. According to the most recent estimates of recruits entering police training in the USA (Buehler 2021), the demographic profile of the sample was generally consistent with the demographics of US agencies on age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education level. Full descriptive statistics of the sample’s demographics are presented in Table 1.

Measures

The outcome variable is recruits’ pre-service attitudes toward the use of force, which is measured with a five-item scale. The items, which are conceptually similar to items used in previous research (e.g. Burke and Mikkelsen 2005; Phillips 2015; Marier and Moule 2019), tap into recruits’ views of the use of force (e.g. ‘Police officers should use more force to get citizens to comply’). Please see Table A.1 in the Appendix for all survey items used to create this study’s latent constructs. The use of force items was measured on a five-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree; 5 = Strongly Agree).

The independent variables of interest were warrior mindset and guardian mindset. The former was a six-item construct, whereas the latter comprised five items. The items for both constructs, conceptually similar to those used in previous research (e.g. McClean et al., 2020; Koslicki 2021; McCarthy et al., 2023), tap into recruits’ mental orientations toward police work. Specifically, in thinking about their expectations about the role of the police, recruits were asked to rate the importance of various police functions related to warrior and guardian mindset. Examples of warrior tasks include arresting offenders, conducting drug raids, and controlling crowds at public events; examples of guardian tasks include working with the community to make neighborhoods safer, providing crime prevention education, and conducting foot patrols. These items were measured on a three-point Likert scale (1 = Not Very Important; 3 = Very Important).

Based on previous research (e.g. Burke and Mikkelsen 2005; Ivkovic and Haberfeld 2019; Marier and Moule 2019; McCarthy et al., 2023), several variables were utilized for statistical control. Recruits’ perceptions of procedural justice were based on their attitudes toward specific responses during a routine traffic stop. The variable was comprised of seven items (e.g. ‘Explain to the driver why you stopped the car’) and was measured with a five-point Likert scale (1 = Low Priority; 5 = High Priority). Higher scores on the variable reflected greater perceptions of using procedurally just practices with citizens during a traffic stop. Recruits’ perceptions of community cynicism were based on their attitudes toward the community. The variable was comprised of five items (e.g. ‘Many people in society are liars and cheaters’) and was measured with a five-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree; 5 = Strongly Agree). Recruits’ use of force integrity was based on their responses to attitudinal items tapping into their seriousness ratings of use of force misconduct. The variable was comprised of four items (e.g. ‘Using force to send a message to someone with an attitude’) and was measured with a four-point Likert scale (1 = Not Serious At All; 4 = Very Serious). Higher scores on the variable reflected a greater level of integrity concerning the use of force. Age was a continuous variable. Sex (0 = female; 1 = male), race (0 = nonwhite; 1 = white), and military veteran (0 = no; 1 = yes) were each dichotomously measured. Education level was a seven-category ordinal variable (1 = HS/GED; 7 = Advanced College Degree). Lastly, four dummy academy variables were created to represent the training sites, with Academy 5 (i.e. the statewide academy) as the reference category.

Validity and reliability of constructs

Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess the factor structure of the latent variables. As described by Kline (2015), all latent constructs demonstrated acceptable-to-good fit.³ Importantly, the CFAs for the primary variables of interest all demonstrated good fit: use of force (CFI = 0.98; NNFI = 0.96; RMSEA = 0.06; SRMR = 0.02), warrior (CFI = 0.97; NNFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.06; SRMR = 0.01), and guardian (CFI = 0.97; NNFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.10; SRMR = 0.02). Moreover, all latent constructs demonstrated acceptable-to-good internal reliability (Cronbach α > 0.65).

ANALYSES AND RESULTS

The first set of analyses focused on the frequency by which recruits agreed with using force survey items to get a general sense of recruits’ attitudes toward using force (see Fig. 1). While there was variation in the frequency of responses among the five items, the results are consistent with previous research such that there is at least some evidence for officers’ favorable views of force and even a tolerance for unnecessary force. Specifically, 4.8% of the sample agreed (a combination of ‘Agree’ and ‘Strongly Agree’) that officers should use more force to get citizens to comply; 44.6% agreed that officers are often in situations where it is more appropriate to use physical force than to keep on talking to a person; 47.5% agreed that some people can only be brought to reason the hard, physical way; 32.2% agreed that sometimes forceful police actions are very educational for civilians; and 10.3% disagreed (a combination of ‘Disagree’ and ‘Strongly Disagree’) that use of force should be the last resort for police officers.

The second set of analyses considered bivariate relationships between the predictor and outcome variables (see Table 2). Importantly, the two recruit mindset variables, warrior (r = 0.07, P < .05) and guardian (r = −0.13, P < .01), exerted significant associations with favorable attitudes toward the use of force. As expected, recruits with higher levels of warrior mindset are more agreeable toward using force, whereas recruits with higher levels of guardian mindset are less agreeable. Also, consistent with previous research, a significant correlation was documented between warrior and guardian mindset (r = 0.44, P < .01).⁴

While the bivariate correlations established initial relationships between the predictor and outcome variables, it was important to consider these relationships in a multivariate context. Thus, the third set of analyses estimated multivariate regression models to further explore these relationships. Two SEM path models were estimated, one for the theoretical model and one for the full model with control variables (see Fig. 2).⁵ The first model fit the data well (χ2 = 295.37, P < .001; CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.94; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.04) but only explained five percent of the variance in attitudes toward the use of force (R2 = 0.05). Importantly, the two recruit mindset variables, warrior (β = 0.19, P < .01) and guardian (β = −0.28, P < .001), exerted significant effects on use of force attitudes. As expected, higher levels of warrior mindset predicted more agreeable attitudes toward using force, whereas higher levels of guardian mindset predicted less agreeable attitudes. Given the overlap between warrior and guardian mindsets identified earlier, a covariance path was estimated in the model, and it yielded a statistically significant effect (β = 0.66, P < .001).

The second model (i.e. full model) also demonstrated good fit (χ² = 1335.52, P <.001; CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.04; SRMR = 0.06) and explained forty-five percent of the variance in attitudes toward the use of force (R² = 0.45). Importantly, the two recruit mindset variables, warrior (β = 0.25, P < .01) and guardian (β = −0.23, P < .05), once again exerted significant effects on use of force attitudes. As expected, and net of other factors, higher levels of warrior mindset predicted more favorable attitudes toward using force, and higher levels of guardian mindset predicted less favorable attitudes toward using force. In addition, four control variables provided predictive utility in explaining recruits’ attitudes toward the use of force at the 0.05 level. Being male (β = 0.16, P < .01) and an increase in community cynicism (β = 0.50, P < .001) predicted more favorable attitudes toward the use of force. Conversely, training by Academy 1 (β = −0.21, p < .01) and an increase in use of force integrity (β = −0.30, p < .001) predicted less favorable attitudes toward the use of force. Finally, the covariance path again showed a significant effect (β = 0.69, P < .001).

DISCUSSION

Using force represents a governmental authority that officers have to maintain order in society. However, such force should only be used when necessary, and it should always adhere to constitutional provisions, applicable laws, and organizational policies. Moreover, police use of force continues to be a topic of debate within society, and it has been the subject of inquiry for practitioners and academics alike (e.g. Fyfe 1988; Terrill and Mastrofski 2002; Donner et al., 2017). Despite a growing body of research on the use of force, particularly regarding attitudes toward force (e.g. Marier and Moule 2019), much of it has focused on officers. Considerably less is known about the force attitudes of recruits. Consequently, we examined pre-service attitudes toward using force among a multi-academy sample of recruits within the context of recruits’ warrior and guardian mindsets. Several important results emerged from this study and are discussed below.

First, and consistent with previous research (e.g. McLean et al., 2020; McCarthy et al., 2023), distinct—but related—warrior and guardian mindsets emerged. What is particularly interesting is that these mindsets appeared in individuals who had not yet been formally socialized into the police culture (recall that the survey was administered during the first week of academy training), which suggests that recruits come into the profession with an a priori mindset toward the policing profession. This finding is consistent with extant research establishing that preexisting beliefs about the police are developed through early socialization experiences from parents, teachers, friends, and other social institutions (e.g. Trinkner and Cohn 2014; Wolfe et al., 2017), and it demonstrates that individuals develop a schema of how police should do their job or how they should act in certain situations.

Second, the recruits in this sample have already formed attitudes toward using force, even to the extent that a sizable proportion of the sample favors heavy-handed action and even tolerates excessive use of force. Close to half of the sample agreed that some people can only be brought to reason physically, and one-third agreed that forceful action can be educational for the public. In addition, one-tenth of the recruits disagreed that resorting to force should be the last option for officers. Overall, these results suggest recruits may be coming into the profession with a preexisting propensity to use force based on their attitudes regarding its use. These findings are similarly consistent with the socialization literature discussed above. Although academy training has been found to have a significant impact on a recruit’s socialization into the police culture (e.g. Donner and Maskaly 2023; Simon 2023), recruits also come into the profession with previously held beliefs, including attitudes on the use of force (e.g. Oberfield 2012).

Third, and as hypothesized, warrior mindset predicted more agreeable attitudes toward using force, whereas guardian mindset predicted less agreeable attitudes toward using force. This finding is consistent with previous research (e.g. Balko 2014; Stoughton 2016; McLean et al., 2020) and suggests that how recruits view their job impacts how they think about one of the most consequential aspects of their job. Importantly, these results held even after controlling for other variables relevant to explaining [attitudes toward] use of force. Of these variables, community cynicism, impulsivity, age, and military service demonstrated significant effects. Older recruits had less agreeable attitudes toward using force, whereas military veteran recruits and those with greater perceptions of community cynicism and higher levels of impulsivity had more agreeable attitudes. Interestingly, three variables that have consistently been related to the use of force, gender, education level, and procedural justice, were not significant predictors in these analyses.

Policy implications for police reform

The results provide important policy implications for administrators who wish to reform their organization through cultural, attitudinal, and behavioral change. Administrators and training academy staff should make a concerted effort to shift police culture from a warrior mindset to a guardian mindset. This was one of the first recommendations from President Obama’s Task Force (2015: 11): ‘Law enforcement culture should embrace a guardian mindset to build public trust and legitimacy…’ Moreover, it is recommended that administrators ‘walk the walk’ and not just ‘talk the talk’. This means that they need to reaffirm, through creating and enforcing agency policy, a message that promotes a guardian atmosphere within the organization. This includes, for example, the de-militarization of police uniforms, equipment, and vehicles—all apparatus that should be strictly reserved for special response and tactical units (e.g. Balko 2014).

According to both academic commentary and empirical research, it seems evident that any efforts to alter the police culture dramatically require changes in recruitment, hiring, and training (e.g. Westmarland and Rowe 2018; Koslicki 2021; Strah et al., 2023). The importance of these structures on recruit/officer socialization cannot be overstated (e.g. White 2006). While training academies provide recruits with foundational knowledge, they also act as a socialization tool that provides ‘the new member with a set of rules, perspectives, techniques, and/or tools for him to continue as a participant in the organization’ (Van Maanen 1974: 86).

As part of the socialization process, extant research has uncovered several important elements of the police culture that are communicated to recruits during the academy: danger and authority, warrior mindset, us versus them, group solidarity, and acting upon the greater good even if it means breaking the rules (e.g. White 2006; Chappell and Lanza-Kaduce 2010). This transmission of a ‘hidden curriculum’ reinforces a worldview in which officers see themselves as separate from the communities they serve and, therefore, may feel numb to the force they inflict on the public.

It could be argued, however, that the socialization process begins before the academy, such as during the recruitment phase (e.g. McLean et al., 2023). Part of the recruitment effort in policing, particularly over the last few decades, has included department-created recruitment videos (Wilson et al., 2010). In these videos, departments make strategic decisions on what imagery potential applicants will see of the agency. Will the video depict a department that is more warrior-focused (e.g. images of firearms, tactical teams, citizens in handcuffs, high-speed pursuits, militarized vehicles) or more guardian-focused (e.g. images of community engagement, non-motor patrol, positive interactions with juveniles, helping a motorist with a flat tire), or both? While recruitment videos of the 1980s and 1990s largely depicted more of a warrior focus (which coincided with a rise in police militarization; Balko 2014), recent research suggests that the tide may be turning. A content analysis of over 200 recruitment videos from the mid-2010s demonstrated that the majority of video footage depicted community policing (i.e. guardian) imagery as opposed to militarized (i.e. warrior) imagery (Koslicki 2021; see also McLean et al., 2023). This changing tide must also be infused into the later stages of the socialization process.

Although such reforms—both formal and informal—need to start at the top of the organization, they must commence at the recruitment stage and be particularly emphasized during the training academy in which recruits formally begin their socialization into the police culture. Therefore, curriculum and instruction should emphasize the role orientation of a guardian officer. According to Buehler (2021), the average length of academies in the USA is 833 h, of which more than 500 h are devoted to traditional warrior topics (e.g. defensive tactics, use of force, patrol and arrest techniques, crowd control, emergency vehicle operations). To embrace a guardian mindset, academy training (as well as field training and in-service training) must devote greater attention to ‘guardian’ topics, such as community policing, cultural diversity, implicit bias, de-escalation, professionalism, and procedural justice (e.g. Rosenbaum and Lawrence 2017; Strah et al., 2023). Rather than being trained as warriors who might sometimes need to act in a guardian capacity, it is recommended that policing fundamentally shift its culture so that recruits are trained to be guardians who might sometimes need to act as warriors. In the words of Task Force co-chair Charles Ramsey, ‘We [the police] need to move from a warrior mentality to a guardian mentality … We’re not a war with anyone. We’re there to protect; we’re there to serve’ (Ramsey 2015).

Study limitations and directions for future research

While this study has contributed to the policing literature and put forth important policy implications, a few limitations should be addressed. First, this research analyzed cross-sectional data, which hampers the ability to make conclusions regarding causality. Second, and relatedly, the analyses cannot assess changes in recruits’ policing orientations/attitudes toward the use of force over time, nor can they examine the influence of training academy socialization. Future research should consider collecting longitudinal data to rectify these issues and further explore recruits’ attitudes toward force throughout their training—and careers. Third, the current study did not consider the potential interactive effects of the predictor variables on attitudes toward force. Thus, future research should examine interaction terms among the predictor variables on attitudes toward force as it would add depth to the findings and conclusions. Fourth, the warrior and guardian constructs were built from survey items assessing recruits’ evaluation of the importance of various policing tasks. However, the importance of such tasks may not necessarily reflect a direct endorsement of these functions or how they might operate as officers. Future research may want to consider alternative measurement strategies (e.g. ‘Why did you choose a career in policing?’; ‘What are your goals as a police officer?’; ‘How do you view the role of the police in society?’) as they may be better able to tap into the warrior and guardian mindset.

Conclusion

The topic of warrior and guardian mindsets reflects a longstanding debate about what the role of the police ought to be. Are the police there to fight crime and combat evil, build relationships, serve the community—or serve multiple roles simultaneously? These questions will continue to be debated within society, and the answers will not be universally agreed upon. In this study, we examined the influence of warrior and guardian mindset on recruits’ attitudes toward using force. The findings demonstrated the efficacy of such mindsets as a viable model to explain what recruits think about using force as they enter the policing profession. The results suggest that higher levels of warrior mindset predicted more agreeable attitudes toward using force, while higher levels of guardian mindset predicted less agreeable attitudes. This study was able to offer further insight into the use of force perceptions, and the findings yield important policy implications for administrators who are interested in police reform.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. This version has been considerably improved because of their efforts.

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding

This work was performed under a subcontract to the University of South Florida from the University of Illinois at Chicago and made possible by grant number 2008-DN-BX-0005 from the National Institute of Justice. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Justice.

REFERENCES

Footnotes

Appendix Table A.1. Survey items for scaled variables.