Achieving cultural change through organizational justice: The case of stop and search in Scotland

Abstract

In recent years, the scale, impact and legality of stop and search in Scotland has been subject to intense critical scrutiny, leading to major legal and policy reform in 2016. Based on these events, including an early unsuccessful attempt by Police Scotland to reform the tactic (the 'Fife Pilot'), this paper presents original theoretical and empirical insights into organizational change in policing. Building on the theoretical perspectives of Chan (1997) and Bradford and Quinton (2014) on organizational culture and justice respectively, the paper set out a dynamic model of organizational justice in policing. While Scotland has seen significant legislative reform apropos stop and search, we conclude that real change in police practice and culture will require effective leadership and a strong commitment to organizational justice. We also suggest how insights from the analysis might be applied to other jurisdictions and policing fields, with a view to securing more citizen-focused, democratic policing.

Police selectivity “on demand”: the role of organisational justice in promoting procedural justice

“…During the intervisions, the impact of organisational justice on procedural justice became more central (in the same sense: Aston et al. , 2021).…”

“…As a result, the tool can help to increase communication between different levels on the content of patrolling, which in turn has an influence on organisational justice. Scholars recently concluded that emphasising organisational justice can lead to cultural change (Aston et al. , 2021).…”

“…During the intervisions, the impact of organisational justice on procedural justice became more central (in the same sense: Aston et al, 2021). This not only contributed to the analysis but also provided a path to enhance professional resources for police officers as well as space to reflect and formulate thoughts to be "sent up" the hierarchy.…”

An Examination of Police Culture and its Effects on Patrol Officers Attitudes towards Restorative Justice

“…Campeau (2019) refers to these as formal and informal myths of police agencies, while others have referred to these as the working rules of police culture (Stroshine et al, 2008). This perspective does not view police culture as a static, linear, or monolithic, but rather as a culture that is routinely shaped by the various conditions present in policing (Aston et al, 2019). These myths or working rules may be influenced by generational differences between officers which can create "old" and "new" cultural scripts (Campeau, 2019), adopted by officers relating to shifting demographics and policy reforms, or through officers work environments (Campeau, 2018;Carlson, 2019).…”

“…Bellingham (2000, p. 37) argues that "formal rules must be tightened since it is the permissiveness of these rules that creates the space for occupational culture to flourish and foster its resistance to change." In some instances, officers may understand the need for change and what they are being asked to do, but when it is perceived as being imposed by senior management or enforced from outside of the police agency, then change is unlikely to be viewed as fair and officers will often struggle with adopting the practice in any meaningful way (Aston et al, 2019). By failing to change the police culture to adapt to new policy initiatives, officers can perceive new initiatives as a "self-inflicted bureaucratic burden" (Aston et al, 2019, p. 11).…”