Association for
Psychological Science
Public trust and confidence in
the police have remained flat for several decades despite a declining crime
rate in the U.S., a problem that has become especially salient in the wake of
recent police shootings of unarmed black men.
A new report brings psychological
science to bear on policing, providing an in-depth analysis of the factors that
drive public trust and law-related behavior.
The report shows that policing
practices focused on respectful treatment and transparent decision making are
likely to be more effective than traditional punishment-based strategies in
building public trust and encouraging cooperation with the police.
Tyler, Goff,
and MacCoun focus their report on the concept of police legitimacy, which is
shaped by the perception that police treat people with respect and fairness.
They argue that many widely used policing practices, which are often seen as
unfair, have compromised people's view of the police as a legitimate legal
authority, particularly following the deaths of minority men at the hands of
police officers.
"In the
wake of such deaths, the public has been increasingly unwilling to accept
police accounts of such events, to believe that the police will investigate
them in good faith, and to wait until such investigations are completed to
react individually or collectively," says Tyler.
In the report,
Tyler, Goff, and MacCoun review available scientific research on the
relationship between legitimacy, trust, and law-related behavior. Examining
analyses of data from the United States and Europe, the researchers find that
when people view the police as a legitimate and appropriate legal authority,
they are more likely to defer to the police in personal encounters and to
cooperate with the police when asked to.
Furthermore,
people who view the police as legitimate are more likely to comply with the law
in their everyday lives, and they're more apt to help co-police their
communities, report crime, identify criminals, and act as witnesses and jurors.
"Trust is
not simply a byproduct of providing high quality service delivery or lowering
the crime rate," explains Tyler. "Research shows that the subjective
experience of being policed matters."
In particular,
studies show that people react to whether or not they believe the procedures
used by the police are just, an idea referred to as "procedural
justice."
Drawing on
evidence from behavioral science, Tyler and colleagues contend that efforts to
foster perceptions of procedural justice must focus on:
·
Public Participation: Involving the
broader community in the development of strategies for managing social order
encourages public acceptance and buy-in.
·
Neutrality: Engaging in transparent,
rule-based decision making demonstrates that policing policy and practices are
fair and unbiased.
·
Respect: Treating citizens with
dignity communicates to them that their rights are being respected.
·
Trustworthiness: Showing
sensitivity to people's needs and concerns indicates that the police are
sincerely trying to do what is best for those involved.
"Psychological
science can play an important role in the process of creating evidence-based
policies and society can benefit from the incorporation of such evidence into
policies and practices of legal authorities," says Tyler.
According to
Cook, the authors "make a strong case in support of taking police
legitimacy seriously, and they point out that many police officials and other
public leaders have recognized its importance."
The stakes are
high, Cook says, but "[r]esearch offers a way forward; it cannot determine
society's goals, but it can provide the means to achieve the goals of a just
society, and to do so more efficiently and effectively."