UC Irvine

This research examines the influence of a national mentoring program on law enforcement and community relations using in-depth interviews with police officers, youth, and parents participating in a youth-mentoring program. Beginning in 2016, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America launched the Bigs in Blue program, a one-on-one mentoring program aimed at connecting youth with law enforcement to create lasting relationships that “can help children develop into confident adults and help build stronger bonds between law enforcement and the families they serve.” In-depth interviews were conducted from September 2019 to September 2020 with participants of the Bigs in Blue Program in the Southwest, South, and Northeast United States. In total, 29 interviews were conducted with 26 total respondents. Three police officers were interviewed twice. Findings from this research reveal how mentoring influences police perceptions and mentality regarding their role. Police described mentoring as enhancing their empathy, patience, and “soft skills” necessary for positive interactions with youth from single-headed households, high crime neighborhoods, and those suffering from mental illness. Police also perceived mentoring as a turning point for youth on a delinquent trajectory, which several officers noted as contrasting with their traditional role as a police officer. Officers noted their view that mentoring could improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve by increasing trust and improving communication. Furthermore, interviews allowed for police to acknowledge or question their role in an institution that functions to perpetuate structural inequalities while simultaneously working to improve the individual lives of marginalized youth. Despite the various perceived benefits of this mentoring program on law enforcement, youth, and their communities, this research also reveals the limitations of individualized relationships between police and youth in addressing broader systemic and institutional problems between law enforcement and the communities they police.