Lorie A. Fridell

Policing and procedural justice: a state-of-the-art review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to systematically and comprehensively review the literature on procedural justice in policing, in the context of both police-citizen encounters and organizational decision making. Design/methodology/approach – The current study reflects a narrative meta-review of procedural justice within policing generated through a systematic and exhaustive search of several academic databases (e.g. Criminal Justice Abstracts, Criminology: A SAGE Full Text Collection, EBSCO Host, PsychInfo, etc.). Findings – The current meta-review identified 46 studies that matched the selection criteria. In this body of research, 28 studies analyzed procedural justices within the context of police-citizen encounters and 18 studies examined procedural justice within the context of police organization decision making. In general, the body of research yields two main findings. First, citizens’ perceptions of procedural justice during interactions with the police positively affect their views of poli...

A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of Police Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) on Response-to-Resistance in a Large Metropolitan Police Department

ABSTRACT The current study provides a statistically rigorous program evaluation of the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police response-to-resistance (e.g., use of force). Results indicate that BWC officers’ mean frequency of response-to-resistance decreased by 8.4% from the 12 months pre-BWC implementation to the 12 months post-BWC implementation compared with a 3.4% increase observed for the matched sample of non-BWC officers. Police departments should consider adopting BWCs alongside other strategies to reduce police response-to-resistance, and to improve transparency and accountability. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

The Relationship Between Self-Control and Police Misconduct A Multi-Agency Study of First-Line Police Supervisors

Prior research has identified several individual, organizational, and community-level correlates of police misconduct, but studies based on theoretical explanations have only recently emerged in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to examine the potential relationship between self-control and police misconduct using both Gottfredson and Hirschi’s original version of self-control theory and Hirschi’s revised version of the theory. Data from a multi-agency sample of 101 first-line police supervisors demonstrated that self-control, as measured by both conceptualizations of the theory, was significantly related to self-reported prior engagement in police misconduct as well as the likelihood of future misconduct. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and policy implications, as well as in terms of study limitations and directions for future research.

The link between traditional police sub‐culture and police intimate partner violence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify whether officers who adhere to the aspects of the traditional police sub‐culture – authoritarianism, cynicism, and burnout – are more likely to use violence against their intimate partner. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is measured in terms of both physical assault and psychological violence.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was created using existing scales and was given to a sample of police officers from four departments in the southern United States. Both Tobit and logistic regression were utilized to examine the effects of the traditional police sub‐culture on the two types of intimate partner violence.Findings – The results of the analyses partially supported the link between traditional police culture and police intimate partner violence. The results showed that two aspects of the traditional police sub‐culture, burnout and authoritarianism, were significantly related to psychological IPV. There was no significant relationship between traditi...

Police CEOs and subordinates’ perceptions of workplace misconduct: Examining the effect of demographic similarity on attitudinal congruence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether homophily – whereby people are influenced by those perceived as similar to themselves – affects attitudes toward police misconduct. Specifically, whether demographic dissimilarity between police chief executive law enforcement officers (CEOs) and subordinates is related to differences in perceptions of misconduct. Design/methodology/approach The data for this research are drawn from the National Police Research Platform. Multilevel mixed-effects regression modeling is used to analyze data from 78 randomly selected US police agencies (78 law enforcement CEOs and 10,709 officers from those agencies). Findings The main finding is that demographic dissimilarity between the CEO and subordinates is associated with differences in attitudes about police deviance, net of other factors. Practical implications The results exemplify the need to diversify police agencies at all levels, not just the lower ranks. Because employees were found to be more similar to those one step (up or down) from one another on the organizational hierarchy, diversifying at all levels of the police organizations will help to reduce the social distance between those in closer ranks, which could ameliorate the dissimilarity effect. Likewise, police agencies may need to adopt new management strategies to compensate for a diversifying workforce. Originality/value This study builds on previous research and investigates an understudied topic in the policing literature by assessing the extent to which dissimilarity is related to attitudinal congruence about workplace deviance in police organizations.

Social bonds and police misconduct

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between social control (adult social bonds) and police misconduct. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple regression methods are used to analyze survey data from a sample of 101 first-line police supervisors. A consequence-based measure is used to capture social bonds and workplace deviance is measured as the self-reported likelihood of future misconduct. Findings – Police supervisors reported varying likelihoods of future workplace deviance across four acts of misconduct. Social control was found to be negatively related to three of the four acts, which provides general support for the theory and study hypothesis. Practical implications – The results are discussed in terms of research and policy implications. Originality/value – Acknowledging important gaps in the literature, this study explores the validity of social control theory for explaining police misconduct.

The Science of Implicit Bias and Implications for Policing

Through implicit biases, we link individuals to the stereotypes associated with their group(s); this can occur automatically and outside conscious awareness. A subset of the voluminous body of research on implicit biases looks at which groups that society links to street crime, aggression, and violence. The implicit association between African Americans and crime—the “Black-Crime implicit bias”—can lead individuals to be more likely to perceive ambiguous actions on the part of African Americans, versus Caucasians, as threatening. Such an association could lead to over-vigilance with racial/ethnic minorities on the part of police. Society links other groups—such as women, Asians, the elderly—to noncrime, nonviolence; such associations could lead to under-vigilance on the part of police. Some laboratory research, including some using police as subjects, has affirmed over-vigilance with racial/ethnic minorities, men and Muslims and under-vigilance with groups, such as Caucasians and women. Although researchers have affirmed over and over again, the widespread existence of implicit biases in modern humans, those same researchers have also identified ways that individuals can reduce and manage their biases. As examples, positive contact with individuals who are different from us, as well as exposure to counterstereotypes, can reduce our biases. The counter-stereotype debiasing mechanism has important implications for how use-of-force training can reduce manifestation of human biases in those often split-second use-of-force decisions.

A Comprehensive Program to Produce Fair and Impartial Policing

The “Comprehensive Program to Produce Fair and Impartial Policing” consists of recommendations for how agency leaders, in concert with their community stakeholders, can facilitate bias-free policing within their police agencies. Actions need to be taken within these areas: the leadership message; agency policy; recruitment, hiring, and promotions; training; supervision; accountability measures to promote bias-free policing; measurement; outreach to diverse communities; and operations to promote bias-free policing and the perceptions of it. For instance, agency policy is critical for conveying to personnel when it is and is not legitimate to use race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and other factors to make law enforcement decisions. Unfortunately, there are many meaningless policies in standard operating procedures around North America. There is considerable science looking at how bias can impact managerial decisions, and researchers provide information on how individuals making recruitment, hiring, promotion, and other decisions can thwart the impact of bias on these key internal functions. The agency must use the “usual” accountability mechanisms to promote bias-free policing but both police and community leaders need to understand the constraints associated with adjudicating “racial profiling” complaints. Supervisors must be trained to “supervise to promote bias-free policing” and all police leaders need to take steps to reduce the risk of bias in high-discretion, crime-control-focused activities. There are pros and cons associated with attempts to measure biased policing—for instance, through vehicle stop or pedestrian stop data collection—and a common misperception that findings of “disparity” indicate police bias.