Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews | 2019
When the State Meets the Street: Public Service and Moral Agency
Abstract
ted to evaluate the injection of procedural justice into police work. This consisted of agency commanders discussing citizen satisfaction survey results during COMPSTAT meetings. Using survey results in such a forum is good, and the authors provide useful guidance for future work. However, the project did not involve procedural justice training, and no sustained attempts were made to implore officers to use procedural justice on the street to improve citizen satisfaction. For police agencies wishing to use a similar strategy, I recommend adopting a problem-oriented policing approach by using the SARA model to analyze citizen survey results. What is the problem, what do the data tell us, where are the pinch points for improvement, what do we need to do, did it work? Such an evidence-based approach has the potential to improve the use of procedural justice in areas where it is needed. Engendering police legitimacy has important consequences, including greater compliance and increased officer safety. This book will spark many new studies, but I caution readers from completely accepting the argument that procedural justice theory offers a ‘‘mirage’’ of police reform (Tyler 2017). Procedural fairness can be developed and can work in areas that need improvement. Procedural justice training is important to explore in more detail because even a single experience of injustice may be detrimental to a person’s overall assessment of the police. Worden and McLean’s book underscores the need for more research on these issues, emphasizes the challenges of procedural justice reform efforts, and highlights the fact that officers are not the only actors that shape evaluations of the police.