HOW CITIZENS ASSESS JUST PUNISHMENT FOR POLICE MISCONDUCT

In their dealings with citizens, police in most jurisdictions across the country are prohibited from using unnecessary force, abusing their authority, discourteous behavior, and offensive language. This study examines the factors that contribute to citizens' judgments of fair punishment for police misconduct. Using a factorial survey, citizens are asked to judge vignettes of police misconduct that describe encounters between officers and civilians in detail. The findings show that citizens do weigh the officer's behavior, particularly the unnecessary use of force, and mitigating evidence, particularly the degree to which the civilian is injured. Also, the findings show that respondents' social status, including their race, does not explain ratings, but that respondents' political orientation, that is, liberal versus conservative orientation, does make a significant difference. The findings demonstrate a normative consensus among respondents about the factors to weigh in judging a fair punishment for police misconduct as well as a consensus about the relative severity of appropriate punishment. There is some disagreement among citizens, however, about how to translate judgments of relative severity into a specific punishment for a particular case.