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Home > Research > Vulnerable Communities > Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET)
Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET)
Research suggests that when police treat the public fairly and respectfully, using ‘procedural justice’ approaches, police are viewed as being more legitimate and people are more likely to comply with instructions and cooperate with requests. Those who perceive the police as legitimate engage more positively with the police, obey laws, are subsequently less likely to make complaints in regards to police encounters, have higher levels of satisfaction with police, and are more likely to report crime and disorder problems (see Kane, 2005; Tyler, 1990; Tyler, 2003; Tyler & Huo, 2002). Alternatively, when legitimacy in policing is absent, police tend to assert dominance and maintain order by the use of dominance and force. This leads to less citizen compliance and reporting of crime, more citizen police conflict, greater inter-group tensions and conflicts, risk of radicalisation and disengagement, and an increase in risk of social uprisings (riots) that challenge authority.
QCET is the world’s first randomised field trial of legitimacy policing. The trial took place in some of the most ethnically diverse communities in Brisbane between December 2009 and June 2010. The experimental treatment involved police using short and high volume encounters with citizens to explore whether or not police could alter citizen perceptions of the police. This was achieved through the implementation of a randomised experimental trial design, involving planned and supervised Random Breath Tests (RBTs). During the RBTs, Queensland Police Officers assigned to the experimental condition used elements of procedural justice to raise drivers’ awareness of alcohol related road injury and fatalities. Police also highlighted crime prevention techniques and community events in order to encourage community engagement. In contrast, control RBTs were conducted following standard police operating procedures. Surveys returned from drivers taking part in either the experimental or control RBTs were then compared analytically.
The following points outline the key areas that the research aimed to address:
1. Changed views
- Did the experimental condition change drivers’ views on drinking and driving?
- Did the experimental condition change the way drivers view the police?
2. Perceptions of Fairness, Respect, Compliance, Satisfaction, Trust, and Confidence in relation to the specific RBT encounter of Specific to RBT Encounter
- Did the experimental intervention have an impact on how drivers felt they were treated by police during the RBT encounter?
3. Perceptions of Fairness, Respect, Compliance, Satisfaction, Trust, and Confidence General
- Did the experimental intervention have an impact on how drivers felt they have been treated generally by police?
4. Perceptions of Police Performance
- Did the experimental condition have an impact on drivers’ perception of how good a job police are doing in their neighbourhood (e.g., solving crime etc.)?
In addition to conducting the world’s first randomised field trial of legitimacy policing, the project team also:
- submitted a major review to the Campbell Collaboration Crime & Justice Group with a report on “Legitimacy and Policing”;
- presented on “Issues encountered in social science meta-analysis: A case study on Legitimacy in Policing” at the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology Annual Meeting, Cartagena, Spain.
Professor Lorraine Mazerolle (Chief Investigator)
Dr Sarah Bennett (Research Fellow)
Dr Gentry White (Research Fellow)
Elizabeth Eggins (Research Assistant)
Jacqui Davis (Research Assistant)
Linzie Jones (Research Assistant)
Professor Lawrence Sherman
Professor David Weisburd (Partner Investigator)
Peter Hosking (Police Fellow)
