Exploring the meaning of young people's attitudes towards the police. A qualitative study of Irish youth

Growing autonomy coupled with legal restrictions in adolescence can often mean that relationships between young people and legal authorities are problematic. Traditional approaches to this research has tended to rely on quantitative research designs, which may mean that underlying influencing factors in attitude formation unique to adolescents are not being included in such studies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the underlying theoretical factors that influence young people's attitudes to police that may be excluded from large scale quantitative study designs. Attitudes to police were not easily classified as positive or negative and were influenced by a range of factors including, feeling stereotyped by police, lacking control during interactions and a lack of voice in dealing with the police. How police were perceived to use their power and carry out their duties were also important factors in influencing stated attitudes.