Police perceptions of procedural justice are less well understood than citizen perceptions. Our p... more Police perceptions of procedural justice are less well understood than citizen perceptions. Our paper compares the views of police officers and citizens of a routine Australian policing encounter, the Random Breath Test. We examine perceptions of two versions of their encounter: a business as usual and a more explicitly procedurally just interaction. Our results indicate that the procedurally just version affected the views of police officers, but not drivers, regarding the reasons for conducting Random Breath Tests. It also appears that police officers believe that the encounter has a greater impact on drivers’ views than the drivers report themselves. This study has important implications for policing as it demonstrates that incorporating procedural justice within police-citizen interactions affects police officers as well as the citizens. It also highlights the importance of using external (e.g., larger community) measures, in addition to internal measures (e.g., within police or...
Road policing is an important component of programs designed to alter road user behaviour with th... more Road policing is an important component of programs designed to alter road user behaviour with the use of theory to underpin such programs becoming more prevalent. One theory that may be useful to examine in a road policing context is procedural justice. The concept of procedural justice suggests that how the police treat people when they interact with them is very important. Procedural justice has four elements: neutrality, respect, trust and voice. In interactions where the elements of procedural justice are present, individuals are more likely to comply with the directions of, and to cooperate with, the police. They are also more likely to see the police institution as legitimate. The concept of procedural justice has been applied and explored in a broad range of policing contexts but in a limited way within road policing. This paper considers the concept of procedural justice, explores what we know about its application to road policing and discusses some of the implications for...
Young drivers are the group of drivers most likely to crash. There are a number of factors that c... more Young drivers are the group of drivers most likely to crash. There are a number of factors that contribute to the high crash risk experienced by these drivers. While some of these factors are intrinsic to the young driver, such as their age, gender or driving skill, others relate to social factors and when and how often they drive. This article reviews the factors that affect the risk of young drivers crashing to enable a fuller understanding of why this risk is so high in order to assist in developing effective countermeasures.
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) aims to gradually increase the exposure of new drivers to more c... more Graduated driver licensing (GDL) aims to gradually increase the exposure of new drivers to more complex driving situations and typically consists of learner, provisional and open licence phases. The first phase, the learner licence, is designed to allow novice drivers to obtain practical driving experience in lower risk situations. The learner licence can delay licensure, encourage novice drivers to learn under supervision, mandate the number of hours of practice required to progress to the next phase and encourage parental involvement. The second phase, the provisional licence, establishes various driving restrictions and thereby reduces exposure to situations of higher risk, such as driving at night, with passengers or after drinking alcohol. Parental involvement with a GDL system appears essential in helping novices obtain sufficient practice and in enforcing compliance with restrictions once the new driver obtains a provisional licence. Given the significant number of young driv...
Police perceptions of procedural justice are less well understood than citizen perceptions. Our p... more Police perceptions of procedural justice are less well understood than citizen perceptions. Our paper compares the views of police officers and citizens of a routine Australian policing encounter, the Random Breath Test. We examine perceptions of two versions of their encounter: a business as usual and a more explicitly procedurally just interaction. Our results indicate that the procedurally just version affected the views of police officers, but not drivers, regarding the reasons for conducting Random Breath Tests. It also appears that police officers believe that the encounter has a greater impact on drivers’ views than the drivers report themselves. This study has important implications for policing as it demonstrates that incorporating procedural justice within police-citizen interactions affects police officers as well as the citizens. It also highlights the importance of using external (e.g., larger community) measures, in addition to internal measures (e.g., within police or...
Road policing is an important component of programs designed to alter road user behaviour with th... more Road policing is an important component of programs designed to alter road user behaviour with the use of theory to underpin such programs becoming more prevalent. One theory that may be useful to examine in a road policing context is procedural justice. The concept of procedural justice suggests that how the police treat people when they interact with them is very important. Procedural justice has four elements: neutrality, respect, trust and voice. In interactions where the elements of procedural justice are present, individuals are more likely to comply with the directions of, and to cooperate with, the police. They are also more likely to see the police institution as legitimate. The concept of procedural justice has been applied and explored in a broad range of policing contexts but in a limited way within road policing. This paper considers the concept of procedural justice, explores what we know about its application to road policing and discusses some of the implications for...
Young drivers are the group of drivers most likely to crash. There are a number of factors that c... more Young drivers are the group of drivers most likely to crash. There are a number of factors that contribute to the high crash risk experienced by these drivers. While some of these factors are intrinsic to the young driver, such as their age, gender or driving skill, others relate to social factors and when and how often they drive. This article reviews the factors that affect the risk of young drivers crashing to enable a fuller understanding of why this risk is so high in order to assist in developing effective countermeasures.
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) aims to gradually increase the exposure of new drivers to more c... more Graduated driver licensing (GDL) aims to gradually increase the exposure of new drivers to more complex driving situations and typically consists of learner, provisional and open licence phases. The first phase, the learner licence, is designed to allow novice drivers to obtain practical driving experience in lower risk situations. The learner licence can delay licensure, encourage novice drivers to learn under supervision, mandate the number of hours of practice required to progress to the next phase and encourage parental involvement. The second phase, the provisional licence, establishes various driving restrictions and thereby reduces exposure to situations of higher risk, such as driving at night, with passengers or after drinking alcohol. Parental involvement with a GDL system appears essential in helping novices obtain sufficient practice and in enforcing compliance with restrictions once the new driver obtains a provisional licence. Given the significant number of young driv...
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