Procedural Justice Podcast for July 2011 Beat Intro Voiceover 00.08 This is the Beat – a podcast series that keeps you in the know about the latest community policing topics facing our nation. Interview Jeremy Writt 00.15 Hello and welcome. My name is Jeremy Writt, and on behalf of the Cops Office, I’d like to introduce to you Charlene Moe. Charlene is the senior program specialist for the University of Illinois Center for Public Safety and Justice and she’s here to talk with us today about procedural justice. Charlene 00.30 Well, first Jeremy, let me thank you for providing the Center for Public Safety and Justice this opportunity to discuss the topic of Procedural Justice and the implications for law enforcement agencies across the nation. A good deal of research has been done on procedural justice by many scholars and we’re basing much of what we’re doing on the work of these individuals. Jeremy 00.57 Well let’s start with the definition. What exactly is procedural justice? Charlene 01.01 Well that’s a good place to start. Procedural justice consists of four foundational pillars. The first pillar is fairness and consistency of rule application. And the second pillar is impartiality and unbiased decision making. The third provides a voice and representation in processes and also last – the transparency and openness in those processes. As this relates internally to law enforcement organizations and their employees, sworn and civilian employees, it would include processes involving defining hiring, promotion, discipline, negotiation, assignment of duties, allocation of resources – including on-going training for personnel. As procedural justice relates to the public, it would include how sworn and civilian law enforcement personnel interact with the community and how laws are enforced and the process and openness of allocation of resources. Procedural justice must permeate from within law enforcement organizations through decision making and the treatment of their personnel by management. If this treatment and decision making is perceived fair and equitable, it will lay a foundation for how law enforcement personnel, in turn, will treat and interact with the public. Now president Calvin Coolidge once said “No one is compelled to choose the profession of a police officer, but once they’ve chosen it, everyone is obligated to perform its duties and live up to the high standards of this requirement. Well procedural justice sits upon that high standard. And the importance of that procedural justice and fairness in organization has long been recognized by many professionals from many disciplines for many years. Jeremy 02.58 You mentioned community a couple of times. What are some of the different ways procedural justice can impact a law enforcement agency’s partnerships with the communities they serve? Charlene 03.08 Well since the establishment of the United States cities first police office in Philadelphia in 1751, the police have endured – as we all know – numerous challenges to their legitimacy as an institution of social control and public safety. And when the public is divided over their feelings for the police and when there is division, it can lead to a polarized public – which can be problematic to law enforcement organizations and lessen effectiveness of the police to develop partnerships and to serve their communities. Community satisfaction with the police is important because the efficiency and the effectiveness of law enforcement may depend upon it. Successful policing efforts can be contingent on gaining support from the community. And research indicates this support leads to compliance and cooperation with the police to reduce crime. Now, on the other hand, disapproval of the police by the public decreases the likelihood that individuals will cooperate with the police. Jeremy 04.21 Makes a lot of sense. Now, obviously you said you’re building upon the research of others that preceded you with this course. Could you give us a little bit of background on the course itself? What’s your target audience? What can they expect to learn through the training provided by the Cops Office? Charlene 04.39 Sure. As I indicated, there are numerous conceptual theories about procedural justice and there’s decades of research on procedural justice, but the next step seems to be developing a specific course on procedural justice. So we’ve partnered with the Cops Office to develop Procedural Justice for Law Enforcement Agencies, which will focus on organizational change through the integration of procedural justice core principals into the decision making and policies. The target audience for this course is law enforcement management – and that’s chief, mid-level first-line supervisors of not only sworn staff, but also of civilian employees. And they can expect to gain a broader awareness of procedural justice and its core principles as effective community policing strategies, learn practical steps to integrate procedural justice at the organizational level by incorporating core principles into organizational decision making and policies – and then also learn how to create – which is key – an environment where procedural justice core principles become standard practice within their agency. The instructional method is embedded in adult learning strategies and provides opportunity for interaction with colleagues; they’ll be learning through scenario- based exercises and of course, as always, we take into account the foundational knowledge and the experience that will be in that room as we begin this training. Jeremy 06.15 You kind of already answered it, but how are some of the different ways this particular curriculum relates to community policing? Charlene 06.25 Well, that’s a good question. The public is always watching and police should view themselves as leaders within their community – and leadership is about behavior. Individual officers speak volumes about who they are, who their organization is, and the profession of policing. And 99% of training is directed at skills and without a doubt, skill training is crucial for the safety of officers and civilians alike. But often, what gets law enforcement officials off track are their attitudes – and at times the environment in which they work that support these attitudes. So training needs to mesh both skills and attitude – and procedural justice weighs heavy on attitude, reinforced by an organizational environment which supports and embraces procedural justice core principles. So, if law enforcement staff feel they are being treated fairly within their organization, if they feel there is impartiality and if decision makers are unbiased, if they have a voice in process – and the process is transparent, and if they feel they work in an environment where the tenets of procedural justice are not just spoken about, but lived out organizationally, then they will be more likely to apply these same tenets as they interact with the public. And research has emphasized the importance of the supportive relationship between the police and public in increasing police effectiveness in reducing crime and disorder and the key – building effective community partnerships. A key reason that the people support the police is they view the police as legitimate. Because the police treat them with respect and dignity and decisions are carried out with impartiality, making it easier to accept outcomes – even when they don’t particularly like the outcome. Jeremy: Of course. Yeah. Successful community policing efforts are contingent upon gaining support from the community, based on that legitimacy. Jeremy 08.32 Last question. We’re starting to run out of time, but how does procedural justice bring about or encourage organizational change? Charlene 08.41 Well, that’s the bottom line – is organizational change and procedural justice as a catalyst for this organizational change. It’s not the flavor of the month. It’s not here today and gone tomorrow. It’s about developing genuine relationship between managers and their direct reports. It’s about people feeling like they’re being treated fairly at work. Ultimately, whether or not an agency catches the vision of procedural justice rests with the leadership’s acceptance and adoption of that idea. It doesn’t happen overnight Jeremy. When leadership can foster an environment where procedural justice core principles become a standard practice, they will create an organizational culture that fosters dedication of their staff and innovation – and these are the things that lead to organizational change and a genuine shift in the culture. By raising the awareness in students of how procedural justice is an effective community policing strategy within the organization and without the organization, internally and externally – we hope to promote this organizational change. Jeremy 09.51 And I certainly hope that you do. And we hope that this course you’re developing starts that wave of change. Charlene 09.57 Jeremy, thank you for the opportunity again. Jeremy 09.59 On behalf of the Cops office, I’m Jeremy Writt – and this has been the BEAT. Beat Exit Voiceover: The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of Justice Cops Office. The Cops Office helps to keep our nation’s communities safe by giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing community policing publications, developing partnerships and solving problems. ####END OF TRANSCRIPT####