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Procedural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers

Author

Listed:
  • George Wood

    (Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208)

  • Tom R. Tyler

    (Yale Law School, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511)

  • Andrew V. Papachristos

    (Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208; Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208)

Abstract

Existing research shows that distrust of the police is widespread and consequential for public safety. However, there is a shortage of interventions that demonstrably reduce negative police interactions with the communities they serve. A training program in Chicago attempted to encourage 8,480 officers to adopt procedural justice policing strategies. These strategies emphasize respect, neutrality, and transparency in the exercise of authority, while providing opportunities for civilians to explain their side of events. We find that training reduced complaints against the police by 10.0% and reduced the use of force against civilians by 6.4% over 2 y. These findings affirm the feasibility of changing the command and control style of policing which has been associated with popular distrust and the use of force, through a broad training program built around the concept of procedurally just policing.

Suggested Citation

  • George Wood & Tom R. Tyler & Andrew V. Papachristos, 2020. "Procedural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(18), pages 9815-9821, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:117:y:2020:p:9815-9821
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan Roth & Pedro H. C. Sant’Anna, 2023. "Efficient Estimation for Staggered Rollout Designs," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 669-709.
    2. Crifasi, Cassandra K. & Williams, Rebecca G. & Booty, Marisa D. & Owens-Young, Jessica L. & Webster, Daniel W. & Buggs, Shani A.L., 2022. "Community perspectives on gun violence and safety: The role of policing in Baltimore City," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Donna Harris & Oana Borcan & Danila Serra & Henry Telli & Bruno Schettini & Stefan Dercon, 2022. "Proud to belong: The impact of ethics training on police officers," CSAE Working Paper Series 2022-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    4. Wood, George & Tyler, Tom & Papachristos, Andrew V & Roth, Jonathan & Sant'Anna, Pedro H. C., 2021. "Revised findings for "Procedural justice training reduces police use of force and complaints against officers"," SocArXiv xf32m, Center for Open Science.
    5. White, Michael D. & Orosco, Carlena & Watts, Seth, 2023. "Beyond force and injuries: Examining alternative (and important) outcomes for police De-escalation training," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Saltiel, Fernando & Tuttle, Cody, 2022. "Business Cycles and Police Hires," IZA Discussion Papers 15665, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Boylan, Richard T., 2022. "Should cities disband their police departments?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    8. Sytsma, Victoria A. & Chillar, Vijay F. & Piza, Eric L., 2021. "Scripting police escalation of use of force through conjunctive analysis of body-worn camera footage: A systematic social observational pilot study," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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