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Do Fair Procedures Matter? The Effect of Procedural Justice on Spouse Assault

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Raymond Paternoster ,
Ronet Bachman ,
Robert Brame  and
Lawrence W. Sherman
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Abstract

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In a reanalysis of the Milwaukee Domestic Violence Experiment, we examine whether the use of fair procedures on the part of police officers called to the scene of a domestic assault inhibits subsequent assault. Consistent with expectations, we found that procedural justice did suppress subsequent violence, even in the face of adverse outcomes. When police acted in a procedurally fair manner when arresting assault suspects, the rate of subsequent domestic violence was significantly lower than when they did not. Moreover, suspects who were arrested and perceived that they were treated in a procedurally fair manner had subsequent assault rates that were as low as those suspects given a more favorable outcome (warned and then released without arrest). The suppression effect of procedural justice did not depend on the personal characteristics of suspects.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , 1997 , pp. 163 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 by The Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

This article was prepared under grant No. 96-IJ-C X-0058 from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of the Department of justice. The authors would like to thank E. Allan Lind and the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

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