The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) called for a shift from a warrior to a guardian mindset among police officers to help produce more procedurally-fair outcomes for the public. The current study sought to better understand the factors that contribute to whether officers value procedurally-fair interaction techniques and contribute to the limited research examining how the effects of warrior and guardian mentalities may vary based on individual officer characteristics. This allowed for an examination of the generality of the warrior and guardian orientations on perceptions of procedural justice across gender, race/ethnicity, military service, education, and experience. Analysis of survey data collected from patrol officers in two geographically different and ethnically diverse United States police departments indicated a largely invariant effect of the mentalities on officer attitudes toward procedural fairness, except for officers of color. In this sample, the guardian effect on prioritizing procedural justice was stronger for officers of color than for White officers. This study sheds light on our theoretical understanding of the warrior/guardian framework and offers practical implications for police leaders and policymakers in their effort to improve police-community relations.
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