Interaction satisfaction with university police: Procedural justice and perceptions of safety and fear on campus

Abstract

We investigate student satisfaction with university police interactions in the context of the practice of procedural justice. Drawing from a telephone survey project with a randomized sample of 1,400 university students, we identified 56 respondents who indicated direct contact with campus police. Student perceptions of university police officer conduct is evaluated through: (a) student satisfaction with campus police contact, (b) individual-level predictors of satisfaction, (c) contextual predictors of satisfaction, (d) student perceptions of campus safety, and (e) student fears of victimization on campus. The data are analyzed using multiple logistic regression models assessing the impact of procedural justice measures on student perceptions. We find that procedural justice is a significant predictor of student satisfaction across police interactions. However, it has no impact on student feelings of safety and mitigating circumstances for fear of victimization on campus across gender.