Technology and Law Enforcement: Why We Must Continue to Evolve

Procedural Justice Police Legitimacy

An Evolution in Delivering Police ServiceSince the late 1980s through today, policing has witnessed the introduction of various policing strategies, tactics, and philosophies:Neighborhood Oriented PolicingProblem Oriented PolicingCommunity Oriented PolicingSARABroken WindowsComstatIntelligence Led PolicingData Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic SafetyDelivering Police service in an unbiased/fair mannerProcedural Justice Police Legitimacy

Procedural Justice - Police LegitimacyThe procedural justice perspective argues that legitimacy of the police is linked to the public judgements about the fairness of the processes through which the police make decisions and exercise authority. If the public judges that the police exercise their authority using fair procedures, this model suggest that the public will view the police as legitimate and will cooperate with policing efforts. However, unfairness in the exercise of authority will lead to alienation, defiance and noncooperation.Legitimacy reflects the belief that someone ought to be allowed to exercise their authority.

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A Conceptual Model

Legitimacy

Procedural Justice

Decision acceptance, satisfaction with the decision makerCooperationCompliance with the law

Procedural Justice DimensionsProcedural Justice has two primary dimensionsQuality of the decisionVoice - people want an opportunity to explain their situation to an authority before decisions are made. They want to tell their story.Neutrality (Fair Process) - People react to evidence that authorities with whom they are dealing are neutral. This involves making decisions consistently and not based on personal opinions and biases. Quality of the interactionDignity - People are sensitive to whether they are treated with dignity and their rights respected.Trustworthiness - People focus on cues that communicate information about the intentions and character of the legal authorities with whom they are dealing. Appear sincere, caring, and transparent. Explain or justify actions.

Some Background on Police/Citizen InteractionAccording to a Bureau of Justice Statics report released September 24, 2013 (NCJ 242937)In 2011, an estimated 63 million residents 16 or older, had one or more contactsAbout half were request to police (51%) the other half police initiated (49%)93% of those who requested, 88% of those in traffic stops and 71% of those in street stops thought the police behaved properly8 in 10 traffic, and 6 in 10 street stops were believed to be legitimateWhether traffic or street stop, majority who were searched did not believe it was legitimateWarren found that people who hear negative stories about police contacts from friends and family are approximately four times as likely to perceive disrespect during their own police encounter

SELLING THE STOP

Internal Procedural Justice and Legitimacy Research is starting to show that just as police leaders want officers to embrace Justice and Legitimacy; officers are expecting the same within their organizations in the way leadership treats themRosenbaum argues for an Organizational Justice definition of:A perception held by employees that they are being treated fairly, respectfully and compassionately by those in authority positions, that they have some input and control over decision-making in their work environment, that they are kept informed of and given explanations for the decisions that affect their lives, and that they have opportunities for professional and job enrichment growth.

Internal Procedural (Organizational) JusticeResearch is preliminary, but there may be at least four dimensions to view Organizational JusticeJust Organization fair discipline, assignments, opportunities, accountability and respectful treatmentJust Leadership Agency head sets clear expectations, encourages input, sets a good example and inspires employeesJust Supervision Supervisors set clear expectations, encourage input, fair and consistent and stands up for employeesJust Treatment for Women and Minorities employees treated the same regardless of race or ethnicity or genderRosenbaum notes, The idea of dont do as I do, do as I say does not worklots of laboratory studies that document we want to imitate the behavior of others.

ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICESurvey respondents who report high organizational justice in their organization are much more committed to the agency and want to help management achieve organizational goalsOrganizational commitment is higher among young employees, minority employees, more educated employees and female employees. Rosenbaum concludes this topic, These are only very preliminary resultsthese findings I have presented today suggest that legitimacy inside the organization is likely driven by justice considerations, very similar to how the public views authority figures.

Why Care About Procedural Justice?ExternallyOfficer safety increases and attacks are thwartedHigher satisfaction with policeFewer complaintsGreater cooperation from citizens and adherence to the lawCrime is reducedInternallyLess turnoverGreater commitmentHigher job satisfactionLess workplace disharmony

Questions?

BibliographyRonal Serpas, PH.D., PPT presentation, Sam Houston State University, April, 2015.http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Leadership/legitimacy%20and%20procedural%20justice%20-%20the%20new%20orleans%20case%20study.pdfSunshine & Tyler, (2003)Gau & Brunson (2010)Mazerolle, et al (2013)Findings are based on the Police-Public Contact Survey, a supplemental to the NCVS, which asked a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents age 16 or older about experiences with police during the prior 12 months. Latest data available.

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