Exploring Predictors of Procedural Justice During Traffic Stops Utilizing a Factorial Design

• In Event: Justice during Police Encounters

Abstract

Extant literature suggests fair procedures in police encounters lead to greater perceptions of police legitimacy and to compliance with police officer requests. Given the prominence of negative police-citizen encounters in the media, it is important to consider which elements of procedural justice contribute to perceptions of fair treatment by police and legitimate police action among the public. Few studies have explicitly explored which component of procedural justice, quality of treatment or quality of decision-making, influences perceptions of legitimacy and compliance with law enforcement during traffic stops. Additionally, limited scholarship examines whether demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, race) of citizens involved in police encounters moderate the public’s perceptions of procedural justice during traffic stops. Further, few studies focus on public perceptions of procedural justice during police-citizen encounters. The goal of this study is to explicitly examine perceptions of procedural justice among the public during traffic stops. This study utilizes a factorial design to examine whether quality of police treatment, quality of police decision-making, citizen race, and citizen sex are related to encounter-specific and global perceptions of police legitimacy among the public. The methodological and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed in more detail.

Author

• Starr Solomon, University of Nebraska Omaha