The Effect of Stop Forms and Explaining on Perceptions of Justice during Proactive Stops by the Dutch Police: A Civilian Perspective

This study explores the impact of stop forms and verbal explanations of police actions on civilians' perceptions of justice during police stops, with a focus on ethnic profiling. Using a mixed-methods approach, 118 participants engaged in virtual reality scenarios to assess the effects on interactional and procedural justice, as well as trust in the police. Quantitative results show that verbal explanations significantly enhance perceptions of justice and trust, whereas stop forms have no notable positive impact. In fact, stop forms slightly diminish the effect of verbal explanations on interactional justice when combined. Qualitative analysis revealed three recurring themes regarding ethnicity on stop forms: Understanding (believing to understand why ethnicity is requested), Not Understanding (being unclear about the reason), and Disagreeing (disagreeing with the perceived rationale). Quantitative analysis found that understanding the reason for asking about ethnicity was more common among those identifying as Dutch. This highlights the need to prioritize the concerns of those directly impacted by ethnic profiling in intervention design, rather than focusing on the general public. The study emphasizes key considerations for improving public-police relations.