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Stephen Mastrofski, Tal Jonathan-Zamir, Shomron Moyal, & James Willis Scottish Institute for Police-George Mason University Research Conference
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Procedural justice ◦ Not what the officer does, but how he/she does it ◦ Fairness and consideration in treatment of public Citizen participation Decision-making neutrality (transparency) Dignity of citizens is preserved Trustworthy motives (citizen & society welfare) Highly beneficial consequences of PJ ◦ Police legitimacy ◦ Citizen compliance & cooperation ◦ Greater law abidingness
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What causes police officers to engage in more (or less) procedural justice when dealing with the public?
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Few rules, guidelines, or standards ◦ Compared to arrest, citation, force, crime documentation Low visibility ◦ Not closely monitored or documented Few consequences for low or high performance Formal organizational control mechanisms? ◦ “State of nature”
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The higher the citizen’s social status, the more PJ police will show. The more moral worthiness citizens show in their behavior in police presence, the more PJ police will show. The more difficult or challenging the situation, the less PJ police will show. Some police situations evoke scripts that promote PJ, and others inhibit PJ. ◦ Traffic encounters will show more PJ ◦ Back-up encounters will show less PJ Officer characteristics will influence the level of PJ. ◦ Males will show less PJ than females ◦ Minority officers will show more PJ than non-minorities
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EverdeneNewbury CommunitySuburbanUrban/Suburban Minority ethnicity~40%~30% Violent crimeAbove averageBelow average Number sworn~100~300 Observation periodJun-Dec 2011Sep 2012-Apr 2013 Officers observed1223 Officer sex (male/female)9/316/7 Officer race (white/minority)8/412/11 Observation sessions3536 Citizens observed319284 Department PJ policies/standards Minimal
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Observers accompanied officers on full work shifts Systematically recorded police-citizen interactions ◦ Features of situation (time, location, etc.) ◦ Features of participants (age, sex, race, etc.) ◦ Actions of participants (verbal & physical) Data format ◦ Narrative accounts ◦ Structured questions/responses
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Participation ◦ Officer asked citizen for input? ◦ How attentively did officer listen? Neutrality ◦ Officer explained why police involved? ◦ Officer explained action taken? Dignity and respect ◦ How many explicit signs of disrespect/respect did officer show? Trustworthy motives ◦ Various behaviors showing care and concern for citizen/society welfare? Jonathan-Zamir et al. 2013. “Measuring Procedural Justice in Police- Citizen Encounters.” Justice Quarterly 10.1080/07418825.2013.845677
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The higher the citizen’s social status, the more PJ police will show. ◦ Not supported No social status variables showed significant effects
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The more moral worthiness citizens show in their behavior in police presence, the more PJ police will show. ◦ Citizen role supported Suspects, witnesses/3 rd parties get less PJ than victims Citizens asking for police involvement get more PJ ◦ Citizen demeanor not supported No effect for citizen respect/disrespect
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The more difficult or challenging the situation, the less PJ police will show. ◦ Supported: Number of citizens at scene Number of prior encounters on shift ◦ Not supported (no effect): Police expect difficulties/risk Citizen in conflict with other citizen Police used high-stakes intervention (arrest, search, etc.) Citizen with communications difficulties
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Some police situations have scripts that promote PJ and others inhibit PJ. ◦ Supported: Traffic situations increase PJ Back-up situations decrease PJ Officer characteristics will influence the level of PJ. ◦ Not supported for officer sex or ethnicity (no effect) Low number of officers precludes powerful test
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Levels of PJ observed in the field vary considerably As with coercive discretion, how the citizen behaves/presents at scene influences officer’s behavior ◦ Not social status Some aspects of the work showed impact ◦ Psychological energy for PJ is depleted Irony of audience size ◦ The more citizens present to observe police, the less PJ is shown. Most powerful effect is the officer’s role based on custom and habits Patterns may be very different if departments begin to focus formal discretion control on PJ.
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