POLICE REFORM AS SYSTEM JUSTIFICATION.
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| Title: | POLICE REFORM AS SYSTEM JUSTIFICATION. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | FIELDS, SHAWN E. |
| Source: | Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. Spring2026, Vol. 116 Issue 2, p467-528. 62p. |
| Subjects: | Police reform, Procedural justice, Social theory, Hate crimes, Need (Psychology), Predictive policing, Social systems, Social history |
| Abstract: | System Justification Theory (SJT) provides a useful lens through which to critique recent police reform efforts. SJT posits that members of society tend to justify and maintain existing social and political systems even when those systems disadvantage them, because the predictability of the status quo provides palliative, epistemic, and existential comfort in what otherwise appears to be an unjust and inequitable societal structure. Contrary to "false consciousness" theories, SJT claims that disadvantaged groups may intentionally rationalize what they know to be an unfair status quo, because doing so reduces social anxiety and threat while providing much desired order and meaning to structurally or systemically broken systems. One such broken system--the American policing machine--continues to enjoy broad system justifying supportfrom advantaged and disadvantaged groups alike, despite incontrovertible evidence of the system's unfairness, ineffectiveness, and inefficiency. This contention may seem at odds with the fact that policing also receives among the most vocal and sustained criticism and calls for change of any stable political structure in the country. But it is those very "reforms" championed and implemented in recent years that proves the inherent desire to defend and maintain the status quo. This Article provides two novel contributions to legal literature. First, it provides the first SJT-specific critique of policing and its ability to maintain itself, relatively unchanged, despite its long history of racialized violence and class exploitation. Second, it utilizes the SJT framework to explore how purported reforms to the policing status quo are designed to defend that status quo as fundamentally sound andfair. The two most heavily funded and implemented policing reforms since the Summer 2020 uprisings against police violence--procedural justice and predictive policing--serve not to transform the structure of policing by eliminating it or reducing its bias and exploitation, but to justify its inherent authority through the façade of objectivity. These reforms provide a veneer of legitimacy, making it easier to rationalize the unchanged and unjust status quo. At root, SJT reveals that defenses ofpolicing rarely derive from logic or facts, but from deep-seated psychological needs to perceive the world as orderly, safe, and fair. Recognizing these motivations is key to fostering productive dialogue about true transformative change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is the property of Northwestern University School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 193975151 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: POLICE REFORM AS SYSTEM JUSTIFICATION. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22FIELDS%2C+SHAWN+E%2E%22">FIELDS, SHAWN E.</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Criminal+Law+%26+Criminology%22">Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology</searchLink>. Spring2026, Vol. 116 Issue 2, p467-528. 62p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Police+reform%22">Police reform</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Procedural+justice%22">Procedural justice</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+theory%22">Social theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hate+crimes%22">Hate crimes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Need+%28Psychology%29%22">Need (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Predictive+policing%22">Predictive policing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+systems%22">Social systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+history%22">Social history</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: System Justification Theory (SJT) provides a useful lens through which to critique recent police reform efforts. SJT posits that members of society tend to justify and maintain existing social and political systems even when those systems disadvantage them, because the predictability of the status quo provides palliative, epistemic, and existential comfort in what otherwise appears to be an unjust and inequitable societal structure. Contrary to "false consciousness" theories, SJT claims that disadvantaged groups may intentionally rationalize what they know to be an unfair status quo, because doing so reduces social anxiety and threat while providing much desired order and meaning to structurally or systemically broken systems. One such broken system--the American policing machine--continues to enjoy broad system justifying supportfrom advantaged and disadvantaged groups alike, despite incontrovertible evidence of the system's unfairness, ineffectiveness, and inefficiency. This contention may seem at odds with the fact that policing also receives among the most vocal and sustained criticism and calls for change of any stable political structure in the country. But it is those very "reforms" championed and implemented in recent years that proves the inherent desire to defend and maintain the status quo. This Article provides two novel contributions to legal literature. First, it provides the first SJT-specific critique of policing and its ability to maintain itself, relatively unchanged, despite its long history of racialized violence and class exploitation. Second, it utilizes the SJT framework to explore how purported reforms to the policing status quo are designed to defend that status quo as fundamentally sound andfair. The two most heavily funded and implemented policing reforms since the Summer 2020 uprisings against police violence--procedural justice and predictive policing--serve not to transform the structure of policing by eliminating it or reducing its bias and exploitation, but to justify its inherent authority through the façade of objectivity. These reforms provide a veneer of legitimacy, making it easier to rationalize the unchanged and unjust status quo. At root, SJT reveals that defenses ofpolicing rarely derive from logic or facts, but from deep-seated psychological needs to perceive the world as orderly, safe, and fair. Recognizing these motivations is key to fostering productive dialogue about true transformative change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is the property of Northwestern University School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 62 StartPage: 467 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Police reform Type: general – SubjectFull: Procedural justice Type: general – SubjectFull: Social theory Type: general – SubjectFull: Hate crimes Type: general – SubjectFull: Need (Psychology) Type: general – SubjectFull: Predictive policing Type: general – SubjectFull: Social systems Type: general – SubjectFull: Social history Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: POLICE REFORM AS SYSTEM JUSTIFICATION. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: FIELDS, SHAWN E. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Spring2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00914169 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 116 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology Type: main |
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