Procedural justice training reduces police misconduct

• In Event: 1567 - Section on Sociology of Law Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 4: Punishment

Abstract

The results of an experimental evaluation of a large randomized training program of police officers suggest that training in procedural justice policing strategies reduced public complaints against the police by 12.3%, a reduction which was maintained for the 12 months of the study. This includes complaints about police demeanor and about the use of force by the police. Further, the police are significantly less likely to engage in the type of behaviors toward civilians which lead to settlements and the payout of damages by the city. These findings affirm the feasibility of changing the style of policing which has been associated with popular distrust and complaints of the excessive use of force through a broad training program built around the concept of procedurally just policing.

Authors

• George Wood, Northwestern University

• Tom Tyler, Yale University

• Andrew V. Papachristos, Northwestern University