Due to numerous instances of police brutality in the U.S., researchers and policymakers have urged police to shift their job orientation to become more guardian-oriented (i.e., prioritizing community safety and building relationships) and less warrior-oriented (i.e., prioritizing physical control and fighting crime). Using the group engagement model and the expectancy disconfirmation hypothesis, this study examined: (1) young adults’ desire for police to be warrior- or guardian-oriented, (2) their perceptions of the extent to which police in their community are warrior- or guardian-oriented, and (3) the association between participants’ perceptions of the discrepancy between what police in their community should be versus are perceived to actually be and police legitimacy. In this study, a racially and ethnically diverse sample of young adults aged 18-25 in the United States (N = 436) responded to a self-report survey. Participants preferred police to have more of a guardian than warrior orientation and reported that police are not as guardian oriented as they wanted them to be. Further, if police did not meet their guardian expectations, young adults had more negative perceptions of police legitimacy. Expectations for police behavior may influence police legitimation and, within the context of police reform, young adults support the call for police to be more guardian-oriented by prioritizing community safety and building relationships. Fostering a guardian orientation in police is particularly important for police departments that are interested in promoting perceptions of legitimacy among the communities they serve.

Juvenile justice institutions have been slow to adapt their practices to the developmental challenges of adolescence. Traditional probation, which impacts the vast majority of justice-involved youth, is one such institution considering the primary goal is ensuring youth’s compliance with probation terms rather than long-term prosocial change. To better engage youth, jurisdictions are increasingly using graduated response systems that utilize incentives to reinforce desired behaviors in both the short- and long-term. Yet, little is known about what motivates youth. The current study tested three research questions. The first explored what types of incentives would motivate youth to do well on probation. The second tested what parents believe would motivate youth and how it compared to what youth desire. The final question investigated if older youth desired monetary incentives less than younger youth. Youth most desired praise-based incentives followed by privilege-based incentives and monetary incentives. Further, parents’ perceptions aligned with youths’ perceptions. Overall, these findings highlighted praise may be more impactful than previously thought, and further exploration is needed to understand its effect. Privilege and monetary-based incentives could still prove motivational for youth, but to a lesser degree than previously thought.