Policing immigrants: Using a randomized control trial of procedural justice policing to promote trust and cooperation

Immigrants are often less trusting of police than non-immigrants because they can feel ill-served by police and the laws they enforce. Procedural justice policing has been regarded as central to improving public trust and confidence in police. Using survey data from citizens exposed to the world’s first randomized field trial of procedural justice policing (Queensland Community Engagement Trial), we found that trust in police, but not willingness to report crime to police, was higher among those exposed to the procedural justice condition compared to the control condition. Interestingly, the effect of procedural justice on trust and crime reporting was moderated by age and immigrant status; procedural justice had a more positive effect for immigrants, particularly those younger than 26 years of age