Police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice (2): New Perspectives on Police-Citizen Relations

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

Since the publication of the 2015 Presidential Taskforce Report on 21st Century Policing there has been a groundswell of interest in research on police legitimacy and procedural justice. The Taskforce Report recommended that police could build their legitimacy and improve relations with racial minority communities through adhering to procedural justice principles. Good police-citizen relations are crucial for an effective criminal justice system. Without community support, police would struggle to control and prevent crime. Drawing on innovative new research from around the world this panel of presentations brings together an international group of scholars undertaking research on policing. Papers presented in these two panels utilize different methodologies (survey research, interviews, randomized control trials) to examine the policing of minority communities, immigrants, and youth. They also examine how police practices can shape community perceptions about the legitimacy of police and the public’s willingness to work collaboratively with police. Importantly, the research highlights the importance of police being viewed as fair, respectful, neutral and trustworthy (all aspects of procedural justice). The research also demonstrates that procedural justice policing can have variant effects on public trust and cooperation depending on the population or policing context being studied.

Sub Unit

• Area VIII: Policing / 54: Police, Communities, and Legitimacy

Individual Presentations

• How Supervisors Can Make a Difference. A Comprehensive Test of the “Fair Policing from the Inside Out” Approach. - Maarten Van Craen, KU Leuven

• Police Perceptions of Procedural Justice Policing - Siobhan Allen, Griffith University; Kristina Murphy, Griffith University

• Perceptions of Procedural Justice: Convergent and Divergent Perspectives of Police, Disadvantaged Youth and their Families - Emma Antrobus, University of Queensland; Sarah Bennett, University of Queensland; Emina Prguda, University of Queensland; Lorraine Mazerolle, University of Queensland

• Do Uniforms Matter? Experimental Evidence from the Police Officer Perception Project (POPP) - Rylan Simpson, University of California, Irvine

Chair

• Kristina Murphy, Griffith University