Organizational justice and officer “buy in” in American policing

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the dimensions of organizational justice in police organizations and evaluate how they contribute to organizational commitment, job satisfaction and compliance with agency rules. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 15,236 sworn officers from a national sample of 88 agencies was used, as well as other agency- and community-level variables. Multi-level models assessed how four dimensions of organizational justice affected these outcomes. Findings More favorable perceptions of organizational justice were strongly related to increased commitment to the organization, job satisfaction and compliance with agency rules. Perceptions of organization-wide justice, leadership justice and diversity justice were especially important in predicting those outcome measures. Research limitations/implications While the sample of agencies was broad and diverse, it should not be considered representative of smaller municipal police departments and sheriff’s offices in the USA. Practical implications The findings suggest that “buy in” to reforms and police compliance with rules is much more likely when supervisors and leaders are fair, respectful, give officers input, provide growth opportunities and show concern for officers’ welfare. As such, agencies would benefit from leadership and leadership training that values the core principals of organizational justice. Originality/value The study provides clarity about how organizational justice is perceived by police officers, including women and officers of color, and provides an unprecedented test of organizational justice theory in diverse police agencies.

Burnout in Blue: An Analysis of the Extent and Primary Predictors of Burnout Among Law Enforcement Officers in the United States

“…One approach to getting officers to feel more ownership and "buy-in" to new directions is for top management to support and model the types of organizational-justice-related behaviors that are important to employees, including those that are seen as prioritizing interpersonal relations between employees and managers, giving officers a voice, and protecting them from unfair attacks (Rosenbaum & McCarty, 2017). These steps are essential to help minimize feelings of burnout as officers are expected to continue doing police work under the current conditions of extreme mistrust and scrutiny.…”

The organizational justice effect among criminal justice employees: A meta‐analysis*

“…Numerous organizational justice studies have appeared in criminology and criminal justice journals over the past few decades, and their results have shown that police officers, for example, who feel they have been treated fairly by their supervisors report more commitment to their agency's goals, more identification with their agency, and less cynicism toward their job or citizens compared with their counterparts who perceive less organizational justice from their supervisors (Bradford & Quinton, 2014; Bradford, Quinton, Myhill, & Porter, 2014; Donner, Maskaly, Fridell, & Jennings, 2015; Myhill & Bradford, 2013; Rosenbaum & McCarty, 2017; Trinkner, Tyler, & Goff, 2016). What is more, officers who experience fair supervisory treatment report greater job satisfaction and more trust in their agencies (Donner et al., 2015; Wolfe & Nix, 2017).…”

Burnout Syndrome in Police Officers and Its Relationship with Physical and Leisure Activities

“…Police officers are a group particularly vulnerable to psychopathological disturbances, which leads them to suffer from burnout and affects their quality of life [ 21 , 27 ]. Previous studies show that police officers involved in life-threatening situations, extreme violence, critical incidents, shootings, hostage or negotiation situations, intense exposure to crime scenes, or coworkers’ death or suicide, can develop burnout syndrome associated with mental health problems [ 5 , 24 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”