Since the procedural justice of policing is typically not measured in police agencies, nor is it an outcome for which managers are held accountable, the authors examined whether and how the measurement of procedural justice would affect its management.
Survey-based measures of subjective procedural justice in police contacts were reported to two departments’ command staffs on a monthly basis in Compstat meetings. The impacts of thusly measuring performance were estimated. The authors also analyzed an indicator of procedural justice that was based on systematic observation through video and audio recording of police-citizen encounters, and they interviewed patrol officers and supervisors about supervisors’ efforts to manage procedural justice. Neither indicator of police performance revealed consistent changes; however, a modest improvement on one platoon was detected. The authors discuss the implications for enhancing police legitimacy. (Published abstract provided)