scholarly journals Artificial Fairness? Trust in Algorithmic Police Decision-Making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Hobson ◽  
Julia Yesberg ◽  
Ben Bradford ◽  
Jonathan Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mere Exposure ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Specific Instance ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Perceptions Of Fairness ◽  
General Acceptability

Objectives: Test whether: (1) people view a policing decision made by an algorithm as more or less trustworthy than when an officer makes the same decision; (2) people who are presented with a specific instance of algorithmic policing have greater or lesser support for the general use of algorithmic policing in general; and (3) people use trust as a heuristic through which to make sense of an unfamiliar technology like algorithmic policing.Methods: An online experiment tested whether different decision-making methods, outcomes and scenario types affect judgements about the appropriateness and fairness of decision-making, and the general acceptability of police use of this particular technology. Results: People see a decision as less fair and less appropriate when an algorithm decides, compared to when an officer decides. Yet perceptions of fairness and appropriateness were strong predictors of support for police use of algorithms, and being exposed to a successful use of an algorithm was linked via trust in the decision made to greater support for police use of algorithms.Conclusions: Making decisions solely based on algorithms might damage trust, and the more police rely solely on algorithmic decision-making, the less trusting people may be in decisions. However, mere exposure to the successful use of algorithms seems to enhance the general acceptability of this technology.

scholarly journals Artificial fairness? Trust in algorithmic police decision-making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoë Hobson ◽  
Julia A. Yesberg ◽  
Ben Bradford ◽  
Jonathan Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mere Exposure ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Specific Instance ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Perceptions Of Fairness ◽  
General Acceptability

Abstract Objectives Test whether (1) people view a policing decision made by an algorithm as more or less trustworthy than when an officer makes the same decision; (2) people who are presented with a specific instance of algorithmic policing have greater or lesser support for the general use of algorithmic policing in general; and (3) people use trust as a heuristic through which to make sense of an unfamiliar technology like algorithmic policing. Methods An online experiment tested whether different decision-making methods, outcomes and scenario types affect judgements about the appropriateness and fairness of decision-making and the general acceptability of police use of this particular technology. Results People see a decision as less fair and less appropriate when an algorithm decides, compared to when an officer decides. Yet, perceptions of fairness and appropriateness were strong predictors of support for police use of algorithms, and being exposed to a successful use of an algorithm was linked, via trust in the decision made, to greater support for police use of algorithms. Conclusions Making decisions solely based on algorithms might damage trust, and the more police rely solely on algorithmic decision-making, the less trusting people may be in decisions. However, mere exposure to the successful use of algorithms seems to enhance the general acceptability of this technology.

Focal Concerns and Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199128
Author(s):  
David S. Lapsey ◽  
Bradley A. Campbell ◽  
Bryant T. Plumlee
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Campbell Collaboration ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Sexual assault and case attrition at the arrest stage are serious problems in the United States. Focal concerns have increasingly been used to explain police decision making in sexual assault cases. Because of the popularity of the focal concerns perspective and potential to inform evidence-based training, a systematic review and meta-analysis are needed to condense the literature. In this study, we assess the overall strength of the relationship between focal concerns variables and police decisions to arrest in cases of sexual assault. Our assessment of the effects of focal concerns variables on arrest decision making in sexual assault cases followed the systematic review protocols provided by the Campbell Collaboration of Systematic Reviews. Specifically, we used the Campbell Collaboration recommendations to search empirical literature and used meta-analysis to evaluate the size, direction, and strength of the impact of focal concerns variables on arrest decisions. Our search strategy detected 14 eligible studies and 79 effect sizes. The meta-analysis found several robust and statistically significant correlates of arrest. In fact, each focal concerns concept produced at least one robust arrest correlate. Overall, focal concerns offers a strong approach for explaining police decisions in sexual assault cases. Although practical concerns and resource constraints produced the strongest arrest correlates, results show the importance of additional case characteristics in officers’ decision to arrest.

Policing in a Largely Minority Jurisdiction: The Influence of Appearance Characteristics Associated with Contemporary Hip-Hop Culture on Police Decision-Making

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1310-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean A. Dabney ◽  
Brent Teasdale ◽  
Glen A. Ishoy ◽  
Taylor Gann ◽  
Bonnie Berry
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Hip Hop Culture ◽  
Police Decision Making

The Individual and Administrative Justice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Creutzfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Perceptions Of Fairness ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Individual Justice ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Service ◽  
Administrative Justice

This chapter discusses what individual justice means in the realm of administrative justice. The standards of justice and fairness that apply in administrative decision-making need consideration from the perspective of the service user. Should the administrative justice system serve the citizen or the state? What role do individual service users have in the design, use, and evaluation of more bureaucratic systems of redress? Different notions of justice, as they relate to primary decision-making processes, have been described through various models. This chapter provides a set of tools with which to study the subject and argues for the importance of user voice and perceptions of fairness in the provision of a more citizen-focussed justice.

scholarly journals Is Family Decision-making Power?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Pepin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Perceptions Of Fairness ◽  
Proxy Indicators ◽  
Family Decision Making ◽  
Family Choices ◽  
Relative Resources ◽  
Gender System

Do ‘final say’ survey questions measure power within families? Researchers rely on these items as proxy indicators of gender inequality within households, although there are reasons to doubt decision-making is equated with power. I review relative resources and exchange theory predictions about decision-making and two potential moderators: the gender system and methods of allocating income. Using original data (n = 3,975) from a vignette-survey experiment to disentangle the mechanisms leading to decision making authority, I find higher relative earners within families are not regarded as entitled to the final word in decisions. Whether respondents considered earnings individually or community owned did not explain the lack of association between financial resources and decision-making clout. Findings show a significant association between the decider’s gender and perceptions of fairness: specifically, when women were presented as the decider over monetary family choices, unilateral decision-making was viewed more favorably. Results from the qualitative analysis of the reasoning behind these evaluations were consistent with beliefs in egalitarian essentialism, that women and men are equal but characteristically different. Findings suggest ‘final say’ measures should be interpreted cautiously as markers of power and offers insights in to why gender equality within families remains stalled.

The Script in Action

2021 ◽  
pp. 241-280
Author(s):  
Richard Martin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Sales Pitch

This chapter examines how the public order script, explored in Chapter 6, was performed by commanders. It begins by exploring how commanders sought to sell the script to the parade and protest groups commanders sought to ‘win over’. If such groups could be won over with the PSNI’s pitch, the likelihood of disorder was greatly diminished, and commanders could better control the event. In some cases, however, the sales pitch proved unsuccessful; marchers and protestors proceeded with their own agendas. In such instances, commanders proved reluctant to intervene too forcefully, for reasons that will become clear. In two high-profile cases, the police approach to disorder has led to legal challenges, both of which reached the UK’s highest court. This introduces the second audience occasionally in receipt of the police script: the courts that must assess the internal self-application of human rights law by police. In their review of police decision-making in these cases, though, the senior judiciary have proven reluctant to interfere, showing deference to officers’ relative expertise, their access to intelligence and the exigencies of operational situations. The final section asks what role human rights law has come to play in managing the kinds of ‘trouble’ that Waddington (1994) identified over two decades ago as crucial to commanders’ decision-making.

scholarly journals Policing “uncontrollable banshees”: factors influencing arrest decision making

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Young
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Training ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Arrest Decision ◽  
Determining Factor

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence police officers’ decision making when dealing with young women considered violent. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were carried out with frontline police officers in Scotland on their experiences of responding to incidents where young women displayed violence. Findings – The police officers clearly distinguished encounters with women using violence from those with young men, portraying young women as irrational, unpredictable and uncontrollable. The research found that while gender alone was not a determining factor for arrest, police officers did stereotype young women according to gender norms and these norms could have a bearing on decision making. The findings show that police officers prefer to respond to situations with male perpetrators due to their own difficulties effectively communicating with young women, who are often under the influence of alcohol. Research limitations/implications – The research indicates that police officers, regardless of their gender, have difficulties handling violent incidents that involve young women. This provides scope for further analysis of police training to ascertain whether sufficient guidance is provided to fully equip police officers when faced with aggressive young women. This study focused on police officers’ own views and experiences but future research could consider a more ethnographic approach to observe police decision making in practice to determine whether the stereotypes portrayed were a true reflection of their experiences. Originality/value – This is one of only a very few studies that has explored the relation between gender and arrest decision making. It enhances the understanding of how young women come to be arrested and indicates how police officers are currently ill equipped to effectively respond to young women considered violent.

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