American Policing at a Crossroads

46 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2010 Last revised: 10 Feb 2011

See all articles by Stephen Schulhofer

Stephen Schulhofer

New York University School of Law

Tom Tyler

Yale University - Law School

Aziz Z. Huq

University of Chicago - Law School

Date Written: August 23, 2010

Abstract

As victimization rates have fallen, public preoccupation with policing and its crime control impact has receded. Terrorism has become the new focal point of concern. But satisfaction with ordinary police practices hides deep problems. The time is therefore ripe for rethinking the assumptions that have guided American police for most of the past two decades. This essay proposes an empirically grounded shift to what we call a procedural justice model of policing. When law enforcement moves toward this approach, it can be more effective, at lower cost and without the negative side effects that currently hamper responses to terrorism and conventional crime. This essay describes the procedural justice model, explains its theoretical and empirical foundations, and discusses its policy implications, both for ordinary policing and for efforts to combat international terrorism.

Suggested Citation

Schulhofer, Stephen J. and Tyler, Tom and Huq, Aziz Z., American Policing at a Crossroads (August 23, 2010). Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Forthcoming, NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 10-55, U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 337, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1663819

Stephen J. Schulhofer (Contact Author)

New York University School of Law ( email )

40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012-1099
United States

Tom Tyler

Yale University - Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 208215
New Haven, CT 06520-8215
United States

Aziz Z. Huq

University of Chicago - Law School ( email )

1111 E. 60th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

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