ABSTRACT
Results of a survey of 222 detainees in Dutch jails and police stations showed that outcome-fairness judgments of individuals with high self-esteem were more strongly related to outcome considerations than to procedural considerations, whereas outcome-fairness judgments of individuals with low self-esteem were more strongly related to procedural considerations than to outcome considerations. It was proposed that these differences were due to the fact that (a) procedures more strongly express a social evaluation than outcomes and (b) individuals with low self-esteem are more concerned with social evaluations than individuals with high self-esteem. The implications of the results for other individual-differences factors and other populations than detainees are discussed.
Subject(s)
Prejudice , Prisoners/psychology , Self Concept , Social Behavior , Adult , Attitude , Female , Humans , Male , PerceptionSubject(s)
Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Prisoners/statistics & numerical data , Social Control, Formal , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Crime/legislation & jurisprudence , Crime/psychology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Incidence , Interview, Psychological , Male , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Netherlands/epidemiology , Prisoners/psychology , PsychopathologyABSTRACT
This article presents data from a study on 59 deaths in Dutch police stations in the period 1983-1993. Twenty deaths were caused by suicide, 19 by intoxications, 8 by natural causes, and 12 by other or unknown causes. The mortality rate, suicide rate, and poisoning rate in police stations were higher than in penitentiary institutions and in the general population. The morality rate was lower in large police stations than in small police stations. Identification of deviant detainees seemed less problematic than handling these deviant detainees. It is argued that exceptional detainees without serious charges should be transferred to Health Care services. Other structural preventive measures are also discussed.
Subject(s)
Cause of Death , Poisoning/mortality , Police , Prisoners/statistics & numerical data , Suicide/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Analysis of Variance , Crime/statistics & numerical data , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Health Services Accessibility , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Netherlands/epidemiology , Prisoners/classification , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Social Isolation , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiologyABSTRACT
On the basis of fairness heuristic theory, the authors provide an explanation of the frequently replicated fair process effect (the finding that perceived procedural fairness positively affects how people react to outcomes). The authors argue that, in many situations, people may find it difficult to assess whether their outcome is fair or unfair and satisfying or unsatisfying because they only have information about their own outcome and they do not know the outcomes of others and that, in these situations, people use the fairness of the procedure as a heuristic substitute to assess how to judge their outcome. The results of 2 experiments corroborate the authors' line of reasoning. Findings are discussed in terms of recent developments toward an integration of the procedural and distributive justice domains.
Subject(s)
Social Justice , Social Perception , Adult , Female , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Personal SatisfactionABSTRACT
This article presents data from a study on the medical and monitoring procedures surrounding all 59 deaths in Dutch police stations in the period 1983-1993. In many cases, the medical procedures and monitoring procedures were not in accordance with the Dutch ministerial guidelines. Notification of physicians, transference to hospitals, medical examinations, and monitoring procedures showed several shortcomings. Based on the findings, several measures for the prevention of deaths in police custody are discussed.
