A Preliminary and Partial Test of Specific Defiance

Abstract

Deterrence and labeling theories predict opposing eflects of sanctions on criminal behavior, and this diversity in the expected efects of sanctions is also apparent in the empirical literature. Sherman's (1993) defiance theoly has been proposed to explain the conditions under which punishment may either increase or decrease crime. In a reanalysis of the Police Services Study data, we examine how police behaviors may influence the likelihood that citizens will respond with defiant behavior in encounters with police officers. Consistent with defiance theoly, we find that police actions that are likely to be perceived as unfair and stigmatizing increase the likelihood that citizens behave defiantly toward police officers. Directions for ficture research are also idenhfied.

Procedural justice during police-citizen encounters: The effects of process-based policing on citizen compliance and demeanor

“…Citizen irrationality was consistently found to have positive effects on citizens' choice to be disrespectful and noncompliant. This finding is supported by prior research on citizen behavior during encounters (Engel, 2003;Mastrofski et al, 1996;McCluskey, 2003;McCluskey et al, 1999;Piquero & Bouffard, 2003;Reisig et al, 2004). However, other factors had substantively different impacts on citizen disrespect and noncompliance, suggesting that the two types of citizen cooperative behaviors are distinct citizen reactions that probably result from different decision-making processes.…”

“…Extant research suggests that in citizen initiated encounters, the police are perceived as having more legitimacy to intervene (Engel, 2003: Mastrofski et al, 1996McCluskey et al, 1999;Piquero & Bouffard, 2003). In other words, citizens who summon the police to solve problems for themselves may have more trust in the police or in the outcomes they might receive.…”

“…Using data from systematic field observations, this limited body of research has examined citizen reactions to the police such as disrespect toward the police (Reisig et al, 2004), defiance during encounters (Piquero & Bouffard, 2003), and compliance with specific police requests (Mastrofski et al, 1996;McCluskey, 2003;McCluskey et al, 1999). These encounter-level studies have provided limited support for some of the arguments of process-based policing.…”

“…On the other hand, subtle forms of force, such as police disrespect and low levels of coercive acts, did not provoke suspect disrespect because the anticipated costs for the suspect appeared too great. Piquero and Bouffard (2003) examined the effects of police behavior on citizens' negative or hostile reactions including using weapons against police officers, fighting with and cursing at officers, and not answering officers' questions or cooperating with officers. They found that all three police action variables (e.g., nonthreatening verbal, threatening verbal, and physical force) had significant effects on the defiance behavior of citizens during interactions.…”

Understanding non-coercive, procedurally fair behavior by the police during encounters

“…Using data from systematic field observations, this body of research examined citizens' reactions to the police, such as compliance with police commands and requests (McCluskey, 2003;McCluskey et al, 1999;Mastrofski et al, 1996), disrespect toward the police (Reisig et al, 2004), and defiance during encounters (Piquero and Bouffard, 2003). In these studies, procedurally fair behavior of the police was conceptualized as non-coercive behavior related to police decision-making and interpersonal treatment.…”