The Surprising Positive Asymmetry in the Impact of Organizational Justice on Police Outcomes

Abstract

As police organizational justice research continues to mature, this article examines whether an asymmetry exists between positive and negative supervisory experiences on officer perceptions of police performance. The study builds on new theoretical developments in organizational justice that argues for better capturing the independent roles of just and unjust supervisory behaviour. A generally held, but untested, view in the organizational behaviour literature suggests a negative bias: perceptions of unjust supervisors affect employee outcomes more than those viewed as procedurally just. This cross-national test of the impact of supervisory procedural justice finds the existence of a strong positive bias across officer attitudes on police-citizen interactions and rule compliance. Specifically, officer perceptions of just supervisors have a greater influence on officer attitudes toward procedural justice, procedural injustice, and rule compliance in their interactions with the public.