Illuminating the Concept of Community (Group)-Level Procedural Justice: A Qualitative Analysis of Protestors’ Group-Level Experiences With the Police

Abstract

“Procedural justice” (PJ) has traditionally been thought of as an intragroup model, characterizing interpersonal interactions between police officers and specific individuals. O’Brien et al. recently proposed that PJ is also a useful framework for examining intergroup dynamics, and can thus be used to typify interactions between the police and communities/social groups as a whole. Yet, as a novel construct, its precise content remains unclear. We use qualitative, in-depth interviews with individuals who encountered police as a group of protestors, to illuminate the constituent elements of group-level PJ. We identify four concerns with group-level treatment: respect for the existence and cause of the group, partnership with the group, recognizing the individual within the group, and displaying the “right” motivation: allowing group activities to take place safely. We discuss the implications of our findings, arguing that they pave the way for more exhaustive modeling of the fairness embedded in authorities’ treatment.

Are the Police Primarily Responsible for Influencing Place-Level Perceptions of Procedural Justice and Effectiveness? A Longitudinal Study of Street Segments

“…For police managers, the question that they are often confronted with is “how can I improve assessments of policing at high crime places?” or “how can I prevent negative reactions to policing in those places where police work is concentrated?” For scholars, the importance of places in crime prevention raises questions not only about how individual attitudes towards PJ and PE are formed, but what street-level characteristics influence average street-level attitudes. This focus echoes recent investigations of the idea of “group-level PJ” (Jonathan-Zamir, Perry, and Weisburd 2021; O’Brien, Tyler, and Meares 2020).…”

“…Just like assessing citizen attitudes across neighborhoods, communities, and cities is an important focus for scholars, explaining variability at the micro-geographic level should become a more prominent area of research. Our study is the first that we are aware of to take this approach in terms of PJ and PE, but there is growing awareness of the importance of considering collective or group-level PJ (Jonathan-Zamir, Perry, and Weisburd 2021; O’Brien, Tyler, and Meares 2020).…”

“…Treating evaluations of policing as a collective trait is also supported by a recent observation made by O’Brien, Tyler, and Meares (2020). These researchers argue that while the concept of PJ was originally developed to characterize intra group dynamics (whereby authorities and citizens are viewed as individuals interacting within the same social group), it can also be used to characterize inter group dynamics, in which authorities and citizens constitute two distinct social groups, and their engagement is a form of contact between the groups (also see Jonathan-Zamir, Perry, and Weisburd 2021).…”

Examining Differences in the Effect of Vicarious and Personal Procedural Justice on Legal Orientations and Offending Across Race/Ethnicity Among a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders

“…Fourth, juveniles often “hang-out” in groups and delinquency often occurs within group settings (e.g., Gardner & Steinberg, 2005). In turn, it is likely that police officers often encounter and interact with groups of youth in which case police-juvenile interactions may differ, or at least be perceived differently, from individual interactions (Jonathan-Zamir et al, 2021; O’Brien et al, 2020). Thus, it would be informative to examine if differences in outcomes emerged across individual encounters and group encounters.…”

Legitimacy-Based Policing and the Promotion of Community Vitality

“…Another is the employment of reconciliatory gestures that bring various parties together. Jonathan-Zamir, Perry, and Weisburd (2020) highlight ways in which the police can create community-level opportunities for deliberation. As noted, the police can facilitate deliberation, but they need not necessarily be central to this process.…”