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This scoping review mapped the extant literature on parents with a justice-involved youth and their attitudes and perceptions toward police. The study aimed to explore two research questions: (1) How do perceptions between parent and youth correspond? and (2) What factors affect the parental perception of police?

A total of 14 studies were identified and analyzed. The review focused on understanding the relationship between parental and youth perceptions of police, as well as identifying factors that influence parental attitudes.

In short, parents’ perception of police strongly corresponds to that of youths’ perception of police and parents with negative views of the police significantly impact how their children perceive law enforcement. Parental perceptions were found to be influenced by demographic, interpersonal and contextual factors. Notably, police officers’ communicative skills, transparency and ability to interact with parents of justice-involved youth without stigmatizing them were critical in shaping positive perceptions.

The findings are based on a geographically limited number of studies. Future research should further explore these dynamics in different sociocultural contexts and expand the sample size for broader conclusions.

The study underscores the importance of police officers developing strong communication skills and engaging with parents in a manner that avoids stigmatization. Improved interactions between law enforcement and families are essential for supporting justice-involved youth.

This review highlights the role of parental attitudes in shaping youth perceptions of law enforcement that may inform police training aimed at fostering cooperation with families.

This paper sought to bring together police science and sport-for-development (SFD) with a scoping review of the empirical literature on at-risk youth and police relationship-building in the context of sport interventions.

We conducted a scoping review with a Setting, Perspective, Intervention, Comparison and Evaluation (SPICE) model to systematically examine existing studies on the involvement of police in sports-based youth development programs. A total of 1,247 records were identified, and ten empirical research studies were included in the review.

The review identifies the critical role of stakeholders, especially coaches and community leaders, in facilitating police–youth contact. Coaches often serve as boundary-spanners, building trust between police officers and at-risk youth. Police involvement in these programs is multifaceted, with officers participating as teammates, leaders or mentors. This participation helps dismantle barriers and foster positive relationships but shows that different roles are associated with different benefits and risk factors. Relatedly, the review highlights potential risks such as the hyper-criminalization of youth, emphasizing the need for program designs that promote equality and collaboration.

This paper provides the first significant steps toward conceptualizing the role of police within sport interventions by integrating community policing and SFD literature. We advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration between police science and SFD scholars to further develop police–youth relationships.