Zip Code of Conduct: Crime Rate Affects Legal Punishment of Police

How does crime influence punishment? Past work has heavily focused on whether punishment deters crime; we explored the inverse of this frequently studied relationship to test the processes by which crime influences legal punishment. Specifically, we asked whether the crime rate of the area in which individuals reside predicts the degree to which a police defendant is punished for use of force against a civilian. We found that crime rate, as derived by national statistics, relates to individuals' contact and social identification with police (Studies 1 and 2), thus impacting punishment of officers (Study 2). Participants from higher crime areas punished police defendants more and civilian defendants less than those from lower crime areas. The relationship between crime and legal punishment of officers was explained by more frequent negative contact with officers and subsequent reduced social identification with police. This work integrates regional factors with characteristics of the individual, broadening the theoretical scope of work examining bias among legal decision-makers. What is the significance of this article for the general public? We invert the normative psychological exploration of punishment as a deterrent for crime, showing that crime, too, can influence punishment. Higher crime rates led to greater punishment of police for excessive force, by shifting the nature of citizens' contact and social identification with police. Our study offers a psychological process explanation for why some officers are more likely than others to evade legal consequences for abusive actions and suggests ways in which police may promote more positive public perceptions.