Perception of Procedural Justice Amongst Previously Incarcerated Youth: Procedural Justice in Incarcerated Youth

Abstract

Violence among incarcerated youths is a serious public health issue and an area of marked health disparities. Procedural Justice is an ethical framework to guide policy approaches in the criminal justice system. The purpose of our study was to evaluate youth perception of neutrality, respect, trust, and voice while incarcerated. Young people ages 14 to 21 previously incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility were interviewed regarding their perceptions of procedural justice. Participants were recruited from community-based organizations. Interviews were semi-structured, lasting for 1 hr. Interviews were coded for themes related to procedural justice. Twenty-eight participants were interviewed regarding their experience with procedural justice while incarcerated. Key themes included: Neutrality: Participants felt that they were treated impartially regarding everyone receiving the same punishment for offenses; however, levels of punishments for offenses were inconsistent. Respect: Participants often felt disrespected by staff. Trust: The participants did not feel safe to trust. Voice: Participants felt they had no voice while incarcerated. Previously incarcerated youth perceptions indicated a need for more training in the juvenile detention system to enable staff members to have a better understanding of procedural justice and to appropriately utilize it.

Keywords

youth incarceration procedural justice

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aalsma

M. C.

Lau

K. S. L.

Perkins

A. J.

Schwartz

Wiehe

S. E.

Monahan

Rosenman

M. B.

(2016). Mortality of youth offenders along a continuum of justice system involvement. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(3), 303–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.08.030

Abate

Venta

(2018). Perceptions of the legal system and recidivism: Investigating the mediating role of perceptions of chances for success in juvenile offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(4), 541–560.

Alward

L. M.

Baker

Gordon

J. A.

(2021). Procedural justice and incarcerated people's obligation to obey institutional rules: An examination of current, former, and never-gang members. Criminal Justice Journal, 73, 101757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101757

Bandes

S. A.

Pryor

Kerrison

E. M.

Goff

P. A.

(2019). The mismeasure ofTerrystops: Assessing the psychological and emotional harms of stop and frisk to individuals and communities. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 37(2), 176–194. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2401

Beijersbergen

K. A.

Dirkzwager

A. J. E.

Eichelsheim

V. I.

van der Laan

P. H.

Nieuwbeerta

(2014). Procedural justice and prisoners’ mental health problems: A longitudinal study. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 24(2), 100–112. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.1881

Beijersbergen

K. A.

Dirkzwager

A. J. E.

Nieuwbeerta

(2016). Reoffending after release: Does Procedural Justice during imprisonment matter? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(1), 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815609643

Blader

S. L.

Tyler

T. R.

(2003). A four-component model of procedural justice: Defining the meaning of a “Fair” process. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(6), 747–758. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203029006007

Bonnie

R. J.

Chemers

Schuck

(2014). Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach. National Academy of Sciences.

Brame

Mulvey

E. P.

Schubert

C. A.

Piquero

A. R.

(2018). Recidivism in a sample of serious adolescent offenders. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 34(1), 167–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-016-9329-2

10.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

11.

Brockner

Ackerman

Greenberg

Gelfand

M. J.

Francesco

A. M.

Chen

Z. X.

Leung

Bierbrauer

Gomez

Kirkman

B. L.

Shapiro

(2001). Culture and Procedural Justice: The Influence of power distance on reactions to voice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37(4), 300–315. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2000.1451

12.

Coffey

Lovett

A. W.

Cini

Patton

G. C.

Wolfe

Moran

(2004). Predicting death in young offenders: A retrospective cohort study. The Medical Journal of Australia, 181(9), 473–477. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb06402.x

13.

Del Toro

Lloyd

Buchanan

K. S.

Robins

S. J.

Bencharit

L. Z.

Smiedt

M. G.

Reddy

K. S.

Pouget

E. R.

Kerrison

E. M.

Goff

P. A

. (2019). The criminogenic and psychological effects of police stops on adolescent black and Latino boys. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(17), 8261–8268. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1808976116

14.

Fitzalan Howard

Wakeling

. (2020). People in prisons’ perceptions of procedural justice in England and Wales. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(12), 1654–1676.

15.

Friedman

Lurigio

A. J.

Greenleaf

Albertson

(2004). Encounters between police officers and youths: The social costs of disrespect. Journal of Crime and Justice, 27(2), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648X.2004.9721193

16.

Gendreau

Smith

Thériault

Y. L.

(2009). Chaos Theory and correctional treatment: Common Sense, correctional quackery, and the law of Fartcatchers. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 25(4), 384–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986209344552

17.

Gillis

A. J.

Bath

(2016). Demographics. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2015.08.001

18.

Goodman-Delahunty

(2010). Four ingredients: New recipes for procedural justice in Australian policing. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 4(4), 403–410.

19.

Hester

Gray

(2018). For black men, being tall increases threat stereotyping and police stops. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(11), 2711–2715. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1714454115

20.

Higgins

G. E.

Ricketts

M. L.

Griffith

J. D.

Jirard

S. A.

(2013). Race and juvenile incarceration: A propensity score matching examination. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-012-9162-6

21.

Hofer

M. S.

Womack

S. R.

Wilson

M. N.

(2020). An examination of the influence of procedurally just strategies on legal cynicism among urban youth experiencing police contact. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(1), 104–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22242

22.

Hough

Jackson

Bradford

Myhill

Quinton

(2010). Procedural Justice, Trust, and Institutional Legitimacy. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 4(3), 203–210. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paq027

23.

Lambie

Randell

(2013). The impact of incarceration on juvenile offenders. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(3), 448–459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.01.007

24.

Lee

J. M.

Steinberg

Piquero

A. R.

(2010). Ethnic identity and attitudes toward the police among African American juvenile offenders. Criminal Justice Journal, 38(4), 781–789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.05.005

25.

Liebling

Durie

Stiles

Tait

(2005). Revisiting prison suicide: The role of fairness and distress. In Liebling

Maruna

(Eds.), The effects of imprisonment (209–231). Routledge.

26.

Manski

C. F.

Nagin

D. S.

(2017). Assessing benefits, costs, and disparate racial impacts of confrontational proactive policing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(35), 9308–9313. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1707215114

27.

McFarland

M. J.

Geller

McFarland

(2019). Police contact and health among urban adolescents: The role of perceived injustice. Social Science & Medicine, 238, 112487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112487

28.

Murphy

Tyler

(2008). Procedural justice and compliance behaviour: The mediating role of emotions. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38(4), 652–668. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.502

29.

Norling

(2017). AMA Code of Medical Ethics’ opinions related to health care for incarcerated people. AMA Journal of Ethics, 19(9), 911–912.

30.

Penner

E. K.

Viljoen

J. L.

Douglas

K. S.

Roesch

(2014). Procedural justice versus risk factors for offending: Predicting recidivism in youth. Law and Human Behavior, 38(3), 225–237. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000055

31.

Pierson

Simoiu

Overgoor

Corbett-Davies

Jenson

Shoemaker

Ramachandran

Barghouty

Phillips

Shroff

Goel

(2020). A large-scale analysis of racial disparities in police stops across the United States. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 736–745. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0858-1

32.

Ramchand

Morral

A. R.

Becker

(2009). Seven-year life outcomes of adolescent offenders in Los Angeles. American Journal of Public Health, 99(5), 863–870. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2008.142281

33.

Tatar

J. R.

Kaasa

S. O.

Cauffman

(2012). Perceptions of procedural justice among female offenders: Time does not heal all wounds. Psychology Public Policy and Law, 18(2), 268–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025118

34.

Taxman

F. S.

Byrne

J. M.

Pattavina

(2005). Racial disparity and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system: exploring consequences for deterrence. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 16(4 Suppl. B), 57–77. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2005.0119

35.

White

M. D.

Mulvey

Dario

L. M.

(2016). Arrestees’ perceptions of the police: Exploring procedural justice, legitimacy, and willingness to cooperate with police across offender types. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(3), 343–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815602501

36.

Whitfield

(2019). Influence of implicit-bias training on the cultural competency of police officers [Doctoral dissertation], Walden University.

37.

Woolard

J. L.

Harvell

M. P. P. S.

Graham

(2008). Anticipatory injustice among adolescents: Age and racial/ethnic differences in perceived unfairness of the justice system. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 26(2), 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.805