The Importance of Being Satisfied

Abstract

Researchers have documented the negative consequences of police-initiated contact for youth including increased delinquency. The procedural justice framework suggests this delinquency amplification is due, in part, to the negative consequences of police contact on evaluations of the police. Using four waves of data, we explore the multiple ways in which being stopped or arrested and procedural injustice act in concert to affect later delinquency. We also assess how these effects differ based on youth’s evaluations of their police encounters. Our findings indicate that the total effect of being stopped or arrested on delinquency depends on the youth’s level of satisfaction with the encounter. In addition, procedural injustice mediates some of the effect of contact on delinquency, but its relationship with delinquency is not direct. We conclude that the negative consequences of being stopped or arrested are mitigated, but not eliminated, when contact is perceived favorably.