Police Perceptions of Children at Drug-Related Crime Scenes

Drug use is on the rise in the United States, and many individuals who use drugs are also parents of children under 18. Although research has been conducted to explore police officer perceptions of drug use, no research to date has examined officers’ perceptions when children are present at drug-related calls. This is an important area to investigate because police perceptions have the ability to influence the way they behave. In the current study, 12 officers employed in Indiana completed a demographic questionnaire and a semistructured interview, which was analyzed using the consensual qualitative research (CQR) method. Results revealed that police perceptions of children present at drug-related crime scenes could be impacted by the age of the children and whether they believe the children had received negative messages about police. Additionally, findings revealed that officers tend to feel anger toward caregivers, believe that the children are being told that police are bad, indicated that their jobs are impacted by needing to find placement for the children, and want to have positive interactions with the children. On a personal level, officers reported coping with stress by not showing emotions, not bringing work home, and participating in hobbies. Officers also reported seeing addiction as a cycle. Limitations include lack of diversity of gender, race, and location of police officers; further, all but one officer interviewed had children. Findings highlight a need for further research to help shape policy surrounding training of and expectations for officers when children are present at drug-related crime scenes.