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PERCEPTIONS OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE MEDIATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCAL VIOLENT CRIME DENSITY AND CRIME REPORTING INTENTIONS
Author(s) -
Kruger Daniel J.,
Crichlow Vaughn J.,
McGarrell Edmund,
Hollis Meghan,
Jefferson Briana M.,
Reischl Thomas M.,
Zimmerman Marc A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.21797
Subject(s) - procedural justice , perception , criminology , economic justice , psychology , criminal justice , social psychology , race (biology) , political science , sociology , law , neuroscience , gender studies
Community attitudes toward the police are of increasing concern to scholars and practitioners. Although it is widely accepted that perceptions of procedural justice are influential in shaping citizens’ attitudes toward police, prior studies have not considered its relationship to crime density. To address this gap, we examined the relationship between crime density, perceptions of procedural justice, and intentions to report crimes to police using data from a demographically representative survey in an urban center widely known for exhibiting extremely high violent crime rates. We created a path model predicting perceptions of procedural justice, the likelihood of contacting police to report a crime, and the likelihood of socially interacting with police other than in relation to crime. The results indicate that independent of race and educational background, community members’ trust in police mediates the relationship between local crime density and their intentions report crimes to and otherwise interact with the police.