Understand Us
This publication analyses results from two national surveys that aim to understand young adults’ views of policing. Assessing responses by gender, ethnicity, and life circumstances, we explore how young adults’ trust and confidence in policing can be improved. It is our hope that this survey will begin a national conversation about policing young adults.
Both surveys highlight the new generation’s changing attitudes towards policing, crime, and justice. Today, young adults expect the police to understand their personal circumstances and show compassion towards them. They want police officers to be able to identify their needs and divert them away from the criminal justice system into support.
It is vital that police leaders listen to young adults, particularly those with lived experience of the criminal justice system. Police leaders must understand young adults’ concerns, needs and expectations and co-create the future of policing in collaboration with them.
