The Consequences of Being an Object of Suspicion: Potential Pitfalls of Proactive Police Contact

Abstract

During the latter half of the 20th century U.S. policing became more professional (Skogan & Frydl 2004) and the rate of violent crime declined dramatically (Blumstein & Wallman 2000). Yet public trust and confidence in the police increased at best marginally and there has been a large and continuing racial gap in police legitimacy. This article reviews changes in police policy and practice to explore the reasons for this seeming paradox. It is argued that a new model of proactive police stops has increased both the frequency and the range of police contact with people in the community. Such police contact does not inherently undermine public trust in the police, but the style of such contact, which involves the police communicating suspicion of ongoing or future criminal conduct and seeking to prevent it via the threat or use of coercion, has not increased trust. This article examines how such policies developed and why they are problematic. The result of a survey of Americans shows that perceived suspicion damages the social bonds between the police and the community and undermines trust in the police. The article concludes by arguing that police contact need not be inherently negative and contact during which the police use fair procedures can addresses issues of crime and disorder while building trust and confidence.

Cooperating with the Police as an Act of Social Control - Trust and Neighbourhood Concerns as Predictors of Public Assistance

“…Psychologically, we applied aspects of Tyler's procedural justice model (Tyler, 1990(Tyler, , 2006Tyler et al, 2015;Tyler & Huo, 2002) and assessed the association between trust in police procedural justice and cooperation. Sociologically, we concentrated on concerns about community and narratives of moral decline that may shape such cooperation and provide a broader background against which people experience, and judge, the police.…”

Legitimating Practices: Revisiting the Predicates of Police Legitimacy

“…In this initial study, Tyler identified qualities such as neutrality, a willingness to listen, efforts to be fair, politeness, and respect for citizens' rights as central elements of procedural justice. Subsequent studies focused on citizens' encounters with police during street stops (Tyler and Fagan 2008;Bradford et al 2009;Tyler et al 2014;Tyler et al 2015), zeroing in upon individuals' perception of whether they were stopped for legitimate reasons, treated fairly, and given an opportunity to tell their side of the story. These elements of procedural justice are found to be associated with legitimacy judgements.…”

Balancing public safety and individual rights in street policing

“…Braga et al's (13) Campbell Collaboration systematic review has shown a consistent, significant, positive effect from such targeting on crime and disorder levels. Some have been critical of this evidence and the advocacy of hotspot policing on the basis that it entrenches an aggressive, proactive style of policing characterized by SQF (14). However, such arguments underplay the variety of tactics, including problem-solving and thirdparty regulation that have been tested and shown to be effective.…”