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D Predicted Probability of Believing Men vs. Police across Fairness, Race of Men, and Race of Respondent
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We examine the huge racial divide in citizens’ general beliefs about the fairness of the criminal justice system, focusing on the political consequences of these beliefs for shaping diverging interpretations of police behavior. Predictably, most blacks believe the system to be unfair and most whites believe the opposite. More importantly, these bel...
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Citations
... Empirical evaluations show no average reduction in crime and no increase in citizens' trust in the benevolence of police 8 . This is especially true in historically over-policed communities, such as those with higher proportions of civilians of color, where trust in law enforcement is much lower on average [9][10][11] . Indeed, despite the prevalence of community policing initiatives, the public's trust as a whole in the legitimacy of law enforcement has still experienced a precipitous decline and is now at an all-time low 12,13 . ...
Over the past three decades, billions have been invested in community policing to foster positive interactions between officers and community members. Yet, public trust in police continues to decline. Our qualitative analysis of over 500 hours of naturalistic observations suggests a potential reason: the questioning styles of officers in community policing may make community members feel threatened. Observations also point to a solution: transparent communication of benevolent intent. Building on this, a pre-registered field experiment (N = 232) finds that community members feel less threatened and report greater trust when officers use a brief transparency statement (e.g., “I’m walking around trying to get to know the community”). These findings are supported by exploratory natural language processing and sympathetic nervous system measures. Six online experiments (total N = 3210) further show that transparency statements are effective across diverse groups and isolate the conditions where they work best. This multi-method investigation underscores the importance of transparency in fostering positive community-police relations.
... The fairness of the process can be more consequential for people's attitudes about the criminal justice system than the favourability of the outcome (Tyler 2001). Black individuals are far more likely than White individuals to perceive the criminal justice system as unfair (Hurwitz and Peffley 2005). Furthermore, Black individuals are also more likely to apply that perception to assessments of specific events involving misdeeds by police (Hurwitz and Peffley 2005). ...
... Black individuals are far more likely than White individuals to perceive the criminal justice system as unfair (Hurwitz and Peffley 2005). Furthermore, Black individuals are also more likely to apply that perception to assessments of specific events involving misdeeds by police (Hurwitz and Peffley 2005). These symbolic mechanisms may reduce voting, especially by Black and Hispanic detainees, who are more likely to bear the brunt of the system's injusticeand to generalize it to the government's view of their lack of worth as citizens (Lerman and Weaver 2014). ...
Scholars have studied the carceral state extensively. However, little is known about the ‘shadow’ carceral state, coercive institutions lacking even the limited safeguards of the carceral state. Pretrial incarceration is one such institution. It often lasts months and causes large resource losses. Yet it is imposed in rushed hearings, with wide discretion for bail judges. These circumstances facilitate quick, heuristic judgments relying on racial stereotypes of marginalized populations. We merge court records from Miami-Dade with voter records to estimate the effect of this ‘shadow’ institution on turnout. We find that quasi-randomly assigned harsher bail judges depress voting by Black and Hispanic defendants. Consistent with heuristic processing, these racial disparities result only from inexperienced judges. Unlike judge experience, judge race does not matter; minority judges are as likely to impose detention and reduce turnout. The ‘shadow’ carceral state undermines democratic participation, exacerbating racial inequality.
... This means that the legal system must be free from discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or any other characteristic. Achieving true equality before the law requires ongoing efforts to address systemic biases and ensure that legal processes do not disproportionately disadvantage certain groups (Berk et al., 2021;Hurwitz and Peffley, 2005). ...
... Racial profiling is controversial because it judges individuals based on group characteristics rather than individual behavior or evidence. This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, where increased investigation of certain groups results in higher findings and arrest rates, which are then used to justify further profiling (Hurwitz and Peffley, 2005). ...
Advancements in computer science, artificial intelligence, and control systems of the recent have catalyzed the emergence of cybernetic societies, where algorithms play a significant role in decision-making processes affecting the daily life of humans in almost every aspect. Algorithmic decision-making expands into almost every industry, government processes critical infrastructure, and shapes the life-reality of people and the very fabric of social interactions and communication. Besides the great potentials to improve efficiency and reduce corruption, missspecified cybernetic systems harbor the threat to create societal inequities, systematic discrimination, and dystopic, totalitarian societies. Fairness is a crucial component in the design of cybernetic systems, to promote cooperation between selfish individuals, to achieve better outcomes at the system level, to confront public resistance, to gain trust and acceptance for rules and institutions, to perforate self-reinforcing cycles of poverty through social mobility, to incentivize motivation, contribution and satisfaction of people through inclusion, to increase social-cohesion in groups, and ultimately to improve life quality. Quantitative descriptions of fairness are crucial to reflect equity into algorithms, but only few works in the fairness literature offer such measures; the existing quantitative measures in the literature are either too application-specific, suffer from undesirable characteristics, or are not ideology-agnostic. Therefore, this work proposes a quantitative, transactional, distributive fairness framework, which enables systematic design of socially feasible decision-making systems. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of fairness and transparency when designing algorithms for equitable, cybernetic societies.
... Varied research has demonstrated a large and consistent racial gap in Americans' attitudes about the police. In particular, a substantial body of research indicates that White Americans are much more satisfied with and trusting of police across a range of dimensions than are non-White Americans, including about their equitable racial treatment of citizens (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005;Morin & Stepler, 2016;Peck, 2015;Taylor et al., 2015;Warren, 2011;Weitzer & Tuch, 2002, 2005. The gap is consistently largest among Black and White Americans (Lai & Zhao, 2010;Skogan, 2005;Wheelock et al., 2019), wherein Black Americans view police as substantially less fair, procedurally just, and legitimate than do White Americans (e.g., Gau et al., 2012;Gramlich, 2019). ...
... 4. Consistent with research indicating jurors of color are more skeptical of prosecution witnesses including law enforcement (Abshire & Bornstein, 2003;Shaw et al., 2021), Black jurors will view the prosecution witnesses as less credible than will White jurors. 5. Consistent with extensive research on the Black-White racial gap in perceptions of police (e.g., Gramlich, 2019;Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005;Morin & Stepler, 2016;Peck, 2015;Warren, 2011;Weitzer & Tuch, 2005), Black jurors will hold more negative views of the police than White jurors across our measures of police perceptions. 6. ...
Building on research demonstrating significant differences in how Black and White Americans view law enforcement, this study assesses how those differential views shape potential jurors’ decision-making in the context of a federal drug conspiracy case in which the primary evidence against the defendant is provided by an FBI agent and an informant cooperating with the agent. A sample of 649 Black and White jury-eligible U.S. citizens were exposed to the case, in which a Black defendant is being tried, and where the informant-witness race (Black or White) was varied. Participants determined verdict, evaluated evidence, and completed additional measures. Results indicated that Black participants were significantly less likely to convict than White participants, especially in the White informant condition; rated the law enforcement witness as less credible, and viewed police more negatively across three composite measures. Exploratory analysis of how juror race and gender interacted indicates Black women largely drove racial differences in verdicts. Perceptions of police legitimacy mediated the relationship between juror race and verdict choice. We conclude that it is critical that citizens are not prevented from being seated on juries due to skepticism about police, given the risk of disproportionate exclusion of Black potential jurors. The legal processes relevant to juror excusals need to be reconsidered to ensure that views of police, rooted in actual experience or knowledge about the problems with fair and just policing, are not used to disproportionately exclude persons of color, or to seat juries overrepresented by people who blindly trust police.
... In this way, negative encounters can taint how those with conviction histories view the law and legal processes generally, prompting a level of "anticipatory injustice" (Shapiro and Kirkman 2001) that can persist even in the face of objectively fair and legitimate encounters (Woolard, Harvell, and Graham 2008). Notably, these perceptions often divide along racial lines, with Black and Hispanic individuals far more likely to experience injustice, and subsequent anticipatory injustice, than white individuals (Hurwitz and Peffley 2005). Thus, in seeking a career as an attorney, those with conviction histories must negotiate a rather fickle relationship with the law, pursuing admission to a profession that they may simultaneously perceive as unjust. ...
Despite prior negative experiences with the law and licensure barriers, individuals with conviction histories are increasingly seeking entry into the legal profession. To understand their unique educational journeys from a joint stigma and legal consciousness perspective, we conducted in-depth interviews with prospective, current, and former law students with criminal convictions. Findings reveal that early disadvantage and subsequent system involvement provided them with valuable insights into their place in the carceral system. This realization prompted empathy for similarly situated others, a desire to pursue social justice reform, and the deliberate choice to access the power of law to that end. Thus, rather than averting people from the profession, a conviction history can serve as a driving force for pursuing a career in law.
... In this way, negative encounters can taint how those with conviction histories view the law and legal processes generally, prompting a level of "anticipatory injustice" (Shapiro and Kirkman 2001) that can persist even in the face of objectively fair and legitimate encounters (Woolard, Harvell, and Graham 2008). Notably, these perceptions often divide along racial lines, with Black and Hispanic individuals far more likely to experience injustice, and subsequent anticipatory injustice, than white individuals (Hurwitz and Peffley 2005). Thus, in seeking a career as an attorney, those with conviction histories must negotiate a rather fickle relationship with the law, pursuing admission to a profession that they may simultaneously perceive as unjust. ...
... Of particular relevance to the current research, perceptions of fairness are closely tied to race. For instance, Black survey respondents tend to put less trust in the courts to provide a fair trial than do White survey respondents, perhaps because of prior experiences with a racially biased system (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). Furthermore, individuals who view the criminal justice system as racially neutral typically also view it as fair (McGuffee et al., 2007). ...
... In addition, we expected Black participants to evaluate fellow jurors, the trial, and the legal system as less fair than White participants would, regardless of jury composition (cf. Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). To assess the generalizability of reactions such as those described by Crishala Reed, we also measured participants' feelings of being hurt, targeted, and nervous. ...
... More broadly-and not surprisingly-Black participants rated the legal justice system as less fair than did White participants, although again, this effect was small (cf. Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). This finding is consistent in both magnitude and direction with a nationwide survey finding that 87% of Black adults report that Black people are treated less fairly by the justice system, compared with only 61% of White adults (Gramlich, 2019). ...
Objectives:
Prosecutors often use race as a basis for excluding Black jurors in cases with Black defendants. The current research tested whether this practice influences juror attitudes (Study 1). It also tested an intervention to prevent racially biased jury selection (Study 2).
Hypotheses:
We predicted that participants exposed to the exclusion of Black prospective jurors would have more negative feelings compared with those who were not exposed to such exclusions (Study 1). We also predicted that participants taking on the role of a prosecutor would be more likely to exclude a Black (vs. White) prospective juror in a case with a Black defendant and that warnings against race-based decisions would result in elaborate race-neutral rationales for the exclusions (Study 2).
Method:
In Study 1 (N = 228), participants witnessed a simulated jury selection process. For half of the participants, Black jurors were differentially excluded. In Study 2 (N = 298), participants selected between a Black and a White prospective juror for a case with a Black defendant.
Results:
Exposure to race-based exclusions negatively impacted perceptions of fairness and emotional responses, especially for Black participants (Study 1). Participants were more likely to exclude a Black juror (vs. White juror) but gave race-neutral rationales for their decisions. The effect of race on juror selection was eliminated when participants were warned against using race as a basis for excluding jurors (Study 2).
Conclusions:
Race-motivated exclusions affect not only Black defendants, by depriving them of their right to a jury of their peers, but also the jurors who remain to deliberate. A warning could be a viable intervention for curbing the influence of race on prosecutorial decisions during jury selection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
... Race clearly shapes attitudes toward American political institutions (Almond & Verba, 1963;Hero, 2007). African Americans are consistently and strongly less positive about the criminal justice system than whites (Engel, 2005;Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005;Marschall & Shah, 2007) and, to a lesser extent, more negative about political institutions, such as Congress, the presidency, and the federal government as a whole (Brewer & Sigelman, 2002;Howell & Fagan, 1988;Kinder & Sanders, 1996;Sigelman & Welch, 1991). Negative attitudes toward political institutions have significant implications for whether citizens believe that interactions with government officials are fair (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005) and whether citizens comply with government authority (Gibson et al., 2003;Hibbing & Theiss-Morse, 2001;Skolnick, 1966;Skolnick & Fyfe, 1993;Tyler, 1998Tyler, , 2001. ...
... African Americans are consistently and strongly less positive about the criminal justice system than whites (Engel, 2005;Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005;Marschall & Shah, 2007) and, to a lesser extent, more negative about political institutions, such as Congress, the presidency, and the federal government as a whole (Brewer & Sigelman, 2002;Howell & Fagan, 1988;Kinder & Sanders, 1996;Sigelman & Welch, 1991). Negative attitudes toward political institutions have significant implications for whether citizens believe that interactions with government officials are fair (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005) and whether citizens comply with government authority (Gibson et al., 2003;Hibbing & Theiss-Morse, 2001;Skolnick, 1966;Skolnick & Fyfe, 1993;Tyler, 1998Tyler, , 2001. ...
A growing body of research suggests that representation among elected and bureaucratic officials can shape the attitudes and behavior of constituents and clients. We explore the impact of race and gender representation in public schools using a unique survey of students and school personnel from 44 different schools in an Ohio county about school discipline. We use ordered logit models to analyze the survey data. Our analysis suggests race affects attitudes toward institutions and authority even when controlling for individual experiences, that Black student attitudes are influenced by minority teacher representation, student attitudes are different depending on teacher gender representation, and student race and gender condition the influence of representation. Our results have potentially broad implications for understanding attitudes about political institutions, the administration of authority, and the theory of representative bureaucracy.
... Some researchers find that sym-bolic representation can enhance people's perception of government even when the administrative outcome is unfavorable (Roch et al., 2018). Positive examples like this have important implications for policy implementation, encouraging individuals to cooperate, comply with government decisions, and coproduce desired policy outcomes (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005;. ...
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public service delivery presents important yet unanswered questions about citizens’ views of AI. Especially, are citizens’ perceptions of decisions made by AI different from those made by bureaucrats? We answer this question by conducting a conjoint experiment. Our results show that individuals prefer minority bureaucrats over AI to make decisions. This is particularly true for racially minoritized citizens. However, when passive representation within the bureaucracy is unavailable, racially minoritized individuals do not have a clear-cut preference between AI and out-group bureaucrats. Our findings provide insight into the interaction between automation, representation, and equity.
... Some researchers find that sym-bolic representation can enhance people's perception of government even when the administrative outcome is unfavorable (Roch et al., 2018). Positive examples like this have important implications for policy implementation, encouraging individuals to cooperate, comply with government decisions, and coproduce desired policy outcomes (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005;. ...
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public service delivery presents important yet unanswered questions about citizens’ views of AI. Especially, are citizens’ perceptions of decisions made by AI different from those made by bureaucrats? We answer this question by conducting a conjoint experiment. Our results show that individuals prefer minority bureaucrats over AI to make decisions. This is particularly true for racially minoritized citizens. However, when passive representation within the bureaucracy is unavailable, racially minoritized individuals do not have a clear-cut preference between AI and out-group bureaucrats. Our findings provide insight into the interaction between automation, representation, and equity.
