The purpose of this study is to explore the guardian mindset as a means for improving police-community relations. Using data collected from 735 new officers in the USA, confirmatory factor analyses were used to evaluate the empirical validity of the guardian vs. warrior typology, and structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships among the guardian mindset and outcomes believed to improve relations with the public. The results show that officers’ attitudes about the community and communication styles, but not attitudes about the role of the police, differentiate a guardian from a warrior orientation. The results also show that a higher-order guardian factor was related to attitudes about the use of force, procedural justice, and de-escalation. The findings provide some support for the positive effects of a guardian mindset on improving police-community relations while at the same time raising important questions for further study.

本研究的目的是探索监护人心态作为改善警察与社区关系的一种手段。使用从美国 735 名新军官收集的数据，使用验证性因素分析来评估监护人与战士类型学的实证有效性，并使用结构方程模型来检查监护人心态和结果之间的关系，据信可以改善与战士的关系公众。结果表明，警察对社区和沟通方式的态度，而不是对警察角色的态度，区分了监护人和战士的取向。结果还表明，高阶监护因素与使用武力、程序正义和降级的态度有关。