The effects of procedural injustice during police–citizen encounters: a factorial vignette study

Abstract

Objectives

This study tested the effect of procedural injustice relative to being sanctioned by police on a variety of outcome measures, such as decision acceptance and immediate compliance, in two types of police–citizen encounters, traffic stops and noise complaints.

Methods

A factorial vignette design was used to determine the effect that the manipulations (i.e., procedural injustice and receiving a citation) had on the dependent variables. Participants (N = 594) were randomly assigned one vignette scenario with four possible conditions. After reading the hypothetical encounter, closed-ended survey items were administered to participants.

Results

The standardized regression coefficients from the ordinal regression models revealed that participants who were administered the procedural injustice stimuli are less satisfied with how the police resolved the encounter, reported that they are less likely to follow the police directives, said they are less willing to accept the officer’s decisions, and are more likely to wish the police had handled the situation differently. This pattern of findings was consistent in both types of police encounters. Importantly, support was also found for the hypothesis that procedural injustice is more salient in predicting outcomes than whether a citation is issued.

Conclusions

The results support the process-based model of regulation and serve to underscore the influence of unfair police processes on encounter-specific outcome variables.

Appendix

Hypothetical scenarios

Traffic stop

You are driving down an unfamiliar road when you notice a police car with flashing lights behind you. You pull over. The officer pulls in behind you, gets out, and approaches your car. Standing outside your window, the officer says to you: [“Hi there. I pulled you over because you ran a stop sign a few streets back. May I have your license, registration, and proof of insurance please?” (Control Condition)] [“Why did you run that stop sign? Do you have any fucking idea how dangerous that is? Do you? You could have seriously hurt someone. Before you give me your excuses, get out your license, registration, and proof of insurance. I need to see it.” (Experimental Condition)] You hand the officer your information and he walks back to his car. After a few minutes he comes back and says that [he is not going to write you a ticket but asks that you be careful not to run any stop signs in the future. (Control Condition)] [“I am issuing you a ticket. You can pay it online or mail it in. Or if you wish to challenge it be sure to mark the “not guilty” box and they will mail you your court date.” (Experimental Condition)].

Noise complaint

You are hosting a party at your apartment. You and your friends are having a good time, getting a little rowdy, when you hear a knock at the door. You turn down the music and open the door to find a police officer standing in front of you. The officer says to you: [“Hi there, I am here tonight because we received a noise complaint from one of your neighbors. I need to speak with the residents of the apartment for a moment.” (Control Condition)] [“Open this door all the way! We received a noise complaint from one of your neighbors. It’s no fucking wonder, I could hear your shitty music from the parking lot. Are you all deaf?” (Experimental Condition)] After talking to the officer for a few minutes regarding the complaint and the occasion for the party [the officer says that he is not going to break up the party as long as you can keep the noise down. (Control Condition)] [… the officer says your guests need to exit the apartment immediately and he gives you a ticket for violating the local noise ordinance. (Experimental Condition)].