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Cited by 156Policing Practices and PerceptionsCriminal Justice and PenologyCrime Patterns and Interventions

Procedural justice and legal compliance: A revisionist perspective

Nagin, Daniel S., Telep, Cody W.·2020·Criminology & Public Policy
DOI 10.1111/1745-9133.12499
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Abstract

Research Summary: In 2017, we published an essay (Nagin & Telep, 2017) that challenged the widely held view that research had plausibly demonstrated that procedurally just treatment of citizens by police increased the citizen's willingness to comply with the law and thereby reduced crime rates. This article updates Nagin and Telep (2017) with new evidence that has appeared since its publication, while exploring in more depth our critiques of the existing procedural justice evidence base. Overall, we reach a similar conclusion concerning the impact of procedurally just treatment on crime but with the qualification that the rapid growth in the literature offers some encouraging evidence on the effectiveness of procedural justice training in affecting officer's attitudes and the effectiveness of community policing infused with elements of procedural justice in improving citizen perceptions of police. Research on body‐worn cameras also provides indirect support that respectful police–citizen interactions have salutary impacts. We also set out a revisionist perspective on procedural justice that emphasizes the social value of procedural justice in its own right but also makes more modest predictions about impacts on legal compliance. Policy Implications: Our critical assessment of the evidence on the crime prevention efficacy of procedurally just treatment, and even more fundamentally our skepticism about whether procedurally just treatment will reduce mala in se crimes against person and property, does not, however, mean that procedural justice should be relegated to a secondary status in policy discussion about effective policing. To the contrary, as we have argued and continue to argue, procedurally just treatment of citizens has social value independent of its impact on crime. Yet those benefits are still to be demonstrated. Police executives should, therefore, be cognizant that the effectiveness of this approach to policing should be closely monitored.

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  • There remain few randomized field trials from which to draw concrete conclusions about PJ policing, and none that focus on crime hot spots.

    “Despite a growing number of studies of PJ in policing since that time (12–14), there remain few randomized field trials from which to draw concrete conclusions, and none that focus on crime hot spots (15).”

    From Reforming the police through procedural justice training: A multicity randomized trial at crime hot spots (2022) · cites this paper as [15]

  • Training programs have been shown to be effective at improving officers' attitudes toward procedurally just policing.

    “Training programs have been shown to be effective at improving of fi cers ' attitudes toward procedurally just policing (Dai et al., 2020; Nagin & Telep, 2020).”

    From A call to dismantle systemic racism in criminal legal systems. (2022) · cites this paper as Nagin & Telep, 2020

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Authors
Nagin, D. S., & Telep, C. W.
Affiliations
  • Carnegie Mellon University (US)
  • Arizona State University (US)
Corresponding author
Nagin, Daniel S.
ORCID
Venue
Criminology & Public Policy
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2020-06-15
Volume
19
Issue
3
Pages
761-786
ISSN
  • 1538-6473 (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-9133
DOI
10.1111/1745-9133.12499
OpenAlex
W3035897278
Cited by
155
References
123
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 3
FWCI
72.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
Criminology & Public Policy (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
Keywords
procedural justice, legal compliance, police-citizen interaction, crime prevention, community policing, body-worn cameras, police attitudes, public perception of police

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