By: Ron Levi, Holly Campeau, and Todd Fogglesong
An important metric of evaluation when considering the success of policing is how residents view their interactions with the police, and how injustice and redress by state institutions are evaluated.
This paper from Ron Levi, Holly Campeau, and Todd Fogglesong from the Global Justice Lab at the Munk School examines what arrested individuals expect from the police, and the moral grammars they rely on to evaluate police behaviour. Drawing on interviews with recently arrested suspects in the Cleveland city jail, the authors consider what residents use to reflect on and decipher encounters with law enforcement.
The paper find that residents both want to be treated with civility and respect, and want police to care and show empathy for their specific local situation. The authors use these findings to demonstrate how individuals assess and test the moral promise of institutions to offer moral recognition, redress, and repair.
