Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Equal under the Law: Officers' Perceptions of Equitable Treatment and Justice in Policing

  • Published:
American Journal of Criminal Justice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Much research has examined public views about fair treatment of citizens by police, but nearly nothing is known about officers’ perceptions of impartiality and justice within their own occupation. Efforts to improve minority representation in police organizations might be hampered if officers themselves believe that police do not always treat people in neutral, unbiased, and fair ways. The current study analyzes officers’ perceptions of whether their colleagues treat members of the public in ways that display racial impartiality, income impartiality, and procedural justice. Findings indicate that black officers are critical of policing on all three measures; however, controlling for perceived racial and income inequity in a regression model eliminates the race effect for procedural justice. Thus, black officers appear to perceive a greater degree of inequity in how officers treat the public and, in turn, perceived inequity reduces their beliefs that officers consistently engage in procedurally just policing. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Studies from non-Western nations have not reproduced these findings, suggesting that this theoretical model might not extend beyond the Western context (Bradford, Huq, Jackson, & Roberts, 2014; Kochel, Parks, & Mastrofski, 2013; Sun, Wu, Hu, & Farmer, 2017; Tankebe, 2008, 2009; Woo, Maguire, & Gau, 2018).

References

  • Alex, N. (1969). Black in blue: A study of the negro policeman. New York, NY: Meredith Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (2000). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayley, D. H., & Bittner, E. (1984). Learning the skills of policing. Law and Contemporary Problems, 47, 35–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, B., Huq, A., Jackson, J., & Roberts, B. (2014). What price fairness when security is at stake? Police legitimacy in South Africa. Regulation & Governance, 8(2), 246–268.

  • Brunson, R. K. (2007). “Police don't like black people”: African-American young men’s accumulated police experiences. Criminology & Public Policy, 6(1), 71–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunson, R. K., & Gau, J. M. (2015). Officer race versus macro-level context: A test of competing hypotheses about black citizens’ experiences with and perceptions of black police officers. Crime & Delinquency, 61(2), 213–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunson, R. K., & Miller, J. (2005). Young black men and urban policing in the United States. British Journal of Criminology, 46(4), 613–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, J. C., & Warren, P. Y. (2012). Racial, ethnic, and gender differences in perceptions of the police: The salience of officer race within the context of racial profiling. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28(2), 206–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crank, J. P. (2004). Understanding police culture (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dantzker, M. L. (1997). Police officer job satisfaction: Does agency size make a difference? Criminal Justice Policy Review, 8(2–3), 309–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, E., Whyde, A., & Langton, L. (2018). Contacts between police and the public, 2015. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagan, J., & Davies, G. (2000). Street stops and broken windows: Terry, race, and disorder in New York City. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 28, 457–504.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagan, J., Geller, A., Davies, G., & West, V. (2010). Street stops and broken windows revisited: The demography and logic of proactive policing in a safe and changing city. In S. K. Rice & M. D. White (Eds.), Race, ethnicity, and policing: New and essential readings (pp. 309–348). New York, NY: New York University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fridell, L. A. (2017). Producing bias-free policing: A science-based approach. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M. (2011). The convergent and discriminant validity of procedural justice and police legitimacy: An empirical test of core theoretical propositions. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(6), 489–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M. (2014). Procedural justice and police legitimacy: A test of measurement and structure. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(2), 187–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M., & Brunson, R. K. (2010). Procedural justice and order maintenance policing: A study of inner-city young men’s perceptions of police legitimacy. Justice Quarterly, 27(2), 255–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M., & Brunson, R. K. (2012). “One question before you get gone...”: Consent search requests as a threat to perceived stop legitimacy. Race and Justice, 2(4), 250–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M., Corsaro, N., Stewart, E. A., & Brunson, R. K. (2012). Examining macro-level impacts on procedural justice and police legitimacy. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(4), 333–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M., & Jordan, K. L. (2015). Profiling Trayvon. In D. Johnson, P. Y. Warren, & A. Farrell (Eds.), Deadly injustice: Trayvon Martin, race, and the criminal justice system (pp. 7–22). New York, NY: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gau, J. M., & Paoline, E. A., III. (2017). Officer race, role orientations, and cynicism toward citizens. Justice Quarterly, 34(7), 1246–1271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geller, A. B., & Fagan, J. (2010). Pot as pretext: Marijuana, race and the new disorder in New York City street policing. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 7(4), 591–633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gramlich, J. (2019). From police to parole, black and white Americans differ widely in their views of criminal justice system. Pew research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/21/from-police-to-parole-black-and-white-americans-differ-widely-in-their-views-of-criminal-justice-system/ (accessed 12 December 2019).

  • Harris, D. A. (1999). Driving while black: Racial profiling on our nation's highways. Washington, DC: American Civil Liberties Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, J. M., Brown, A., & Cox, K. (2019). Race in America, 2019. Pew research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/04/09/race-in-america-2019/#majorities-of-black-and-white-adults-say-blacks-are-treated-less-fairly-than-whites-in-dealing-with-police-and-by-the-criminal-justice-system (accessed 12 December 2019).

  • Ingram, J. R., Paoline, E. A., III, & Terrill, W. (2013). A multilevel framework for understanding police culture: The role of the workgroup. Criminology, 51, 365–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D., Maguire, E. R., & Kuhns, J. B. (2014). Public perceptions of the legitimacy of the law and legal authorities: Evidence from the Caribbean. Law and Society Review, 48(4), 947–978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerner Commission. (1968). Report of the National Advisory Commission on civil disorders. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klinger, D. A. (1997). Negotiating order in patrol work: An ecological theory of police response to deviance. Criminology, 35(2), 277–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kochel, T. R. (2019). Explaining racial differences in Ferguson’s impact on local residents’ trust and perceived legitimacy: Policy implications for police. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 30(3), 374–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kochel, T. R., Parks, R., & Mastrofski, S. D. (2013). Examining police effectiveness as a precursor to legitimacy and cooperation with police. Justice Quarterly, 30(5), 895–925.

  • Lowrey, B. V., Maguire, E. R., & Bennett, R. R. (2016). Testing the effects of procedural justice and overaccommodation in traffic stops: A randomized experiment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(10), 1430–1449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, E. R., Atkin-Plunk, C. A., & Wells, W. (in press). The effects of procedural justice on cooperation and compliance among inmates in a work release program. Justice Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2019.1634753.

  • Massey, D. S. (1994). Getting away with murder: Segregation and violent crime in urban America. University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 143, 1203–1232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., & Denton, N. A. (1994). American apartheid: Segregation and the making of an underclass. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazerolle, L., Sargeant, E., Cherney, A., Bennett, S., Murphy, K., Antrobus, E., & Martin, P. (2014). Procedural justice and legitimacy in policing. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McElvain, J. P., & Kposowa, A. J. (2008). Police officer characteristics and the likelihood of using deadly force. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35(4), 505–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLean, K., Wolfe, S. E., Rojek, J., Alpert, G. P., & Smith, M. R. (2019). Police officers as warriors or guardians: Empirical reality or intriguing rhetoric? Justice Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2018.1533031.

  • Morin, R., Parker, K., Stepler, R., & Mercer, A. (2017). Behind the badge: Amid protests and calls for reform, how police view their jobs, key issues and fatal encounters between blacks and police. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myhill, A., & Bradford, B. (2013). Overcoming cop culture? Organizational justice and police officers’ attitudes toward the public. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 36(2), 338–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson-Crotty, S., Nicholson-Crotty, J., & Fernandez, S. (2017). Will more black cops matter? Officer race and police-involved homicides of black citizens. Public Administration Review, 77(2), 206–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nix, J., Pickett, J. T., Baek, H., & Alpert, G. P. (2019). Police research, officer surveys, and response rates. Policing and Society, 29(5), 530–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paoline, E. A., III & Terrill, W. (2014). Police culture: Adapting to the strains of the job. Carolina Academic Press.

  • Paoline, E. A., III. (2001). Rethinking police culture: Officers’ occupational attitudes. New York, NY: LFB Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paoline, E. A., III. (2004). Shedding light on police culture: An examination of officers’ occupational attitudes. Police Quarterly, 7(2), 205–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paoline, E. A., III & Gau, J. M. (2018). Police occupational culture: Testing the monolithic model. Justice Quarterly, 35(4), 670–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paoline, E. A., III, Gau, J. M., & Terrill, W. (2016). Race and the police use of force encounter in the United States. The British Journal of Criminology, 58(1), 54–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paoline, E. A., III, Myers, S. M., & Worden, R. E. (2000). Police culture, individualism, and community policing: Evidence from two police departments. Justice Quarterly, 17(3), 575–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paoline, E. A., III, Terrill, W., & Rossler, M. T. (2015). Higher education, college degree major, and police occupational attitudes. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 26(1), 49–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2017). Partisans differ widely in views of police officers, college professors. Pew research Center. Available at https://www.people-press.org/2017/09/13/partisans-differ-widely-in-views-of-police-officers-college-professors/ (accessed 12 December 2019).

  • President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Final report of the President’s task force on 21st century policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reaves, B. A. (2015). Local police departments, 2013: Personnel, policies, and practices. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

  • Rosenbaum, D. P., & McCarty, W. P. (2017). Organizational justice and officer “buy in” in American policing. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 40(1), 71–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skogan, W. G. (2005). Citizen satisfaction with police encounters. Police Quarterly, 8(3), 298–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. A. (1986). The neighborhood context of police behavior. Crime and Justice, 8, 313–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, I. Y., Wu, Y., Hu, R., & Farmer, A. K. (2017). Procedural justice, legitimacy, and public cooperation with police: does western wisdom hold in China? Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 54(4), 454–478.

  • Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. R. (2003). The role of procedural justice and legitimacy in shaping public support for policing. Law and Society Review, 37(3), 513–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tankebe, J. (2008). Police effectiveness and police trustworthiness in Ghana: An empirical appraisal. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 8(2), 185–202.

  • Tankebe, J. (2009). Public cooperation with the police in Ghana: Does procedural fairness matter? Criminology, 47(4), 1265–1293.

  • Telep, C. W. (2011). The impact of higher education on police officer attitudes toward abuse of authority. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 22(3), 392–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terrill, W., & Paoline, E. A., III. (2015). Citizen complaints as threats to police legitimacy: The role of officers’ occupational attitudes. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 31(2), 192–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terrill, W., & Reisig, M. D. (2003). Neighborhood context and police use of force. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40(3), 291–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R. (2006). Why people obey the law. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  • Van Maanen, J. (1974). Working the street: A developmental view of police behavior. In H. Jacob (Ed.), The potential for reform of criminal justice (pp. 83–128). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, S. (1977). A critical history of police reform. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weitzer, R. (1999). Citizens’ perceptions of police misconduct: Race and neighborhood context. Justice Quarterly, 16(4), 819–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weitzer, R. (2000). White, black, or blue cops? Race and citizen assessments of police officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 28(4), 313–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (1999). Race, class, and perceptions of discrimination by the police. Crime & Delinquency, 45(4), 494–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2002). Perceptions of racial profiling: Race, class, and personal experience. Criminology, 40(2), 435–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weitzer, R., Tuch, S. A., & Skogan, W. G. (2008). Police–community relations in a majority-Black city. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 45(4), 398–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werthman, C., & Piliavin, I. (1967). The police: Six sociological essays. In D. Bordua (Ed.), Gang members and the police (pp. 56–98). New York, NY: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis, J. J., & Mastrofski, S. D. (2018). Improving policing by integrating craft and science: what can patrol officers teach us about good police work? Policing and Society, 28(1), 27–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, S. E., & Piquero, A. R. (2011). Organizational justice and police misconduct. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(4), 332–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woo, Y., Maguire, E. R., & Gau, J. M. (2018). Direct and indirect effects of procedural justice on cooperation and compliance: evidence from South Korea. Police Practice and Research, 19(2), 168–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worden, R. E. (1990). A badge and a baccalaureate: Policies, hypotheses, and further evidence. Justice Quarterly, 7(3), 565–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J., Thurman, Q. C., & He, N. (1999). Sources of job satisfaction among police officers: A test of demographic and work environment models. Justice Quarterly, 16(1), 153–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Jacinta M. Gau & Eugene A. Paoline III

Authors
  1. Jacinta M. Gau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eugene A. Paoline III
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacinta M. Gau.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Procedural justice scale items and loadings
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gau, J.M., Paoline, E.A. Equal under the Law: Officers' Perceptions of Equitable Treatment and Justice in Policing. Am J Crim Just 45, 474–492 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09525-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09525-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation