Training police for procedural justice: An evaluation of officer attitudes, citizen attitudes, and police-citizen interactions

• NCJ Number: 311670
• Journal: Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles Volume: 94 Issue: 4 Dated: 2021 Pages: 481-495
• Author(s): Mengyan Dai
• Date Published: September 2020
• Grant Number(s): 2016-IJ-CX-0020
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Assessing Procedural Justice During Police-Citizen Encounters with Officer Surveys, Citizen Surveys, and Systematic Social Observations

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an evaluation of a police training program on procedural justice. The evaluation focused on the short- and long-term effects of the training on officers’ attitudes toward four principles of procedural justice (i.e., trustworthiness, neutrality, voice, and respect). The evaluation also assessed officers’ behaviors on the street and citizens’ interactions such as citizen demeanor and compliance with police requests. Finally, it assessed how the interacting citizens perceived the police. Taken together, the comprehensive data suggested that the procedural justice training was effective both immediately and in the long run. Policy implications are discussed.

(Publisher abstract provided.)