Shaping Police Officer Mindsets and Behaviors: Experimental Evidence of Procedural Justice Training.

This article examines whether police officers can be effectively trained to incorporate procedural justice principles—voice, neutrality, respect, and trustworthiness—in their interactions with citizens. Through a randomized controlled trial involving 1,854 officers from the Mexico City Ministry of Citizen Security, the study finds that procedural justice training significantly improved officers' mindsets and translated into more procedurally just behaviors in the field, as measured by external observers using a mystery-shopper methodology. The training's impact was generally consistent across officers but was stronger among those with higher prosocial attitudes and more positive views of citizens, while officers patrolling higher-crime areas showed smaller behavioral changes. Additionally, training managers enhanced the effects on subordinate officers, highlighting the importance of managerial alignment. The findings suggest that organizational justice can be taught and sustained through well-designed training programs integrated with supportive managerial practices, although contextual factors such as occupational risk may influence behavioral outcomes.