DO FAIR PROCEDURES MATTER - THE EFFECT OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE ON SPOUSE ASSAULT

In a reanalysis of the Milwaukee Domestic Violence Experiment, we exam ine whether the use of fair procedures on the part of police officers called to the scene of a domestic assault inhibits subsequent assault. Consistent with expectations, we found that procedural justice did su ppress subsequent violence, even in the face of adverse outcomes. When police acted in a procedurally fair manner when arresting assault sus pects, the rate of subsequent domestic violence was significantly lowe r than when they did not. Moreover, suspects who were arrested and per ceived that they were treated in a procedurally fair manner had subseq uent assault rates that were as low as those suspects given a more fav orable outcome (warned and then released without arrest). The suppress ion effect of procedural justice did not depend on the personal charac teristics of suspects.