Procedural justice refers to the idea of fairness in the processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources. It is a concept that, when embraced, promotes organizational change, bolsters good relations with the community, and enhances officer safety.
Procedural justice and community policing are related, complementary concepts. The common denominator between the two is that they are both primarily concerned about relationships—creating them and maintaining them well.
Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime (COPS Office 2014).
Impartial decisions are made based on relevant evidence or data rather than on personal opinion, speculation, or guesswork.
Procedural justice focuses on the way police and other legal authorities interact with the public, and how the characteristics of those interactions shape the public’s views of the police, their willingness to obey the law, and actual crime rates. Mounting evidence shows that community perceptions of procedural justice can have a significant impact ...
Procedural justice is based on four central principles: "treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens 'voice' during encounters, being neutral in decision making, and conveying trustworthy motives.".
Procedurally just policing, on the other hand, emphasizes values that police and communities share—shared values based upon a common conception of what social order is and how it should be maintained—and encourages the collaborative, voluntary maintenance of a law-abiding community.
Peffley, M. & Hurwitz, J. (2010). Justice in America: The separate realities of Blacks and Whites. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Procedurally just policing is essential to the development of good will between police and communities and is closely linked to improving community perceptions of police legitimacy, the belief that authorities have the right to dictate proper behavior . Research shows that when communities view police authority as legitimate, they are more likely to cooperate with police and obey the law. Establishing and maintaining police legitimacy promotes the acceptance of police decisions, correlates with high levels of law abidingness, and makes it more likely that police and communities will collaborate to combat crime.
For decades, our research has demonstrated that procedural justice is critical for building trust and increasing the legitimacy of law enforcement authorities within communities. As such, it has paramount implications for both public safety and officer efficacy. While highly publicized abuses of authority by police officers fuel distrust and erode legitimacy, less publicized, day-to-day interactions between community members and law enforcement are also influential in shaping people’s long-term attitudes toward the police.
Procedural justice speaks to the idea of fair processes, and how people’s perception of fairness is strongly impacted by the quality of their experiences and not only the end result of these experiences.
Four Pillars of Procedural Justice. Voice: Individuals are given a chance to express their concerns and participate in decision-making processes by telling their side of the story. Respect: All individuals are treated with dignity and respect.
What determines the driver’s perception of this experience? Extensive research has shown that the driver’s perception of the quality of this encounter depends less on its outcome, that is, on whether they have received or not a ticket, and more on whether they felt treated in a “procedurally just” way.