Procedural Justice Theory

Words: 1159
Pages: 5

Social Problem or Need
Across the Unites States, there has been an increased amount attention towards police officer use of force and use of deadly force towards Blacks, minorities, and individuals living in disadvantaged communities. According to Langton and Durose p. 1(2013), in 2011 the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported, that of the contact that citizens had with police, 86 percent of the contact consisted of traffic stops. The findings provided by the BJS were taking from individuals ages 16 and older who were living in the United Stated during 2011. The purpose of this evaluation is to provide officers with body worn cameras which may be effective in order to decrease the number of citizen complaints against officers and increase
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A highly theorized source of legitimacy is procedural justice. Procedural justice theory holds that when an officer treats their citizens with respect, the citizen will then perceive that officer and police department with increased legitimacy which in turn influences citizens to believe that the officer is fair and deserves to be obeyed (Johnson, Wilson, Maguire, and Kinberg, 2017). According to the process-based model of policing, procedural justice practices leads to legitimacy, which leads to citizen satisfaction, cooperation, and compliance with police (Johnson et al. 2017). Research findings have suggested that individuals will perceives police officers as legitimate when they feel as if they have been treated fairly and was respected by the officer by being able to effectively communicate their concerns with the police officer (Johnson et al. 2017). By increasing procedural justice, citizens will be more willing and more likely to obey the commands of an …show more content…
Black citizens feel like they are stopped for illegitimate reasons which causes some citizens to question the officers and leads to the officer using force to arrest the individual because they felt challenged. History of policing in Black communities have shown that most Blacks hold negative perception about police officers. They have little confidence in police and see law enforcement more as a threat than people who you should call on to help and do not expect protection or justice from police officers (Johnson,