Considerable variance exists between various subgroups in their attitudes toward the police. Adolescents are among the more hostile subgroups. It is often believed that these hostilities are the result of involvement in unlawful activity. Several researchers have consistently demonstrated that police contacts are related to negative attitudes toward the police. An important assumption in police work is that citizens who harbor negative sentiments toward the police are motivated by the threat that the police represent to them. An important part of this research focuses on the interactions between delinquency measures of involvement in alcohol and marijuana, police contacts, and attitudes toward the police. The sample includes adolescents from predominantly rural areas. (Author abstract)