Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T03:57:07.429Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Going beyond Ascribed Identities: The Importance of Procedural Justice in Airport Security Screening in Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Badi Hasisi  and
David Weisburd
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Today, passengers at every major Western airport are subjected to heightened levels of security screening that not only are inconvenient, but also raise important questions about the treatment of members of specific groups that are seen as presenting special security risks. Our study examines the importance of ethnic identity in explaining perceptions of legitimacy in airport screening among a random sample of Jewish and Arab passengers in Israel. The main hypothesis of our study is that ethnicity will play a major role in predicting passengers’ attitudes toward the airport security process. In fact, our survey shows that Israeli Arab passengers are, on average, significantly more negative regarding the legitimacy of security checks than Israeli Jewish passengers are. However, using a multivariate model, we find that ethnicity (Arab versus Jew) disappears as a significant predictor of legitimacy when we included factors of procedural justice and controlled for specific characteristics of the security process. The results of our research indicate that differences in legitimacy perceptions are by and large the result of the processes used in airport screening and not a direct result of ethnic identity. In concluding, we argue that profiling strategies aimed at preventing terrorism, which often include embarrassing public procedures, may actually jeopardize passengers’ trust in airport security. Such security is dependent on the cooperation of citizens, and heightened security procedures focused on particular groups may compromise legitimacy evaluations and thus the cooperation of the public.

Type
Articles
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 867 - 892
Copyright
© 2011 Law and Society Association.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Please address correspondence to Badi Hasisi, The Institute of Criminology Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91905, Israel; e-mail: hasisi@mscc.huji.ac.il.

References

Arab American Institute Foundation (2001) Arab American Attitudes and the September 11 Attacks. Washington, DC: Arab American Institute. http://aai.3cdn.net/75eccc470d751307bc_jcm6bx13j.pdf (accessed 1 October 2011).Google Scholar
Brubaker, Rogers. (1997) Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Dugan, Laura, LaFree, Gary, & Piquero, Alex (2005) “Testing a Rational Choice Model of Airline Hijackings,” 43 Criminology 1031–1065.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enloe, Cynthia (1980) Ethnic Soldiers. Athens: The Univ. of Georgia Press.Google Scholar
Eti, Weisblay (2006) Data on Equal Opportunities in education from Kindergarten to the University. Submitted to the Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child, October 3, 2006 ( http://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/pdf/m01585.pdf).Google Scholar
Fearon, James. D., & Laitin, David (2003) “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War,” 97 American Political Science Rev. 75–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flanagan, Timothy J., & Vaughn, Michael S. (1996) “Public Opinion about Police Abuse of Force,” in Geller, W., & Toch, Hans, eds., Police Violence. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Gabbidon, Shaun, et al. (2009) “The Influence of Race/Ethnicity on the Perceived Prevalence and Support for Racial Profiling at Airports,” 20 Criminal Justice Policy Rev. 344–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghanem, As'ad (2001) The Palestinian-Arab minority in Israel, 1948–2000: A Political Study. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurr, Tedd Robert (1993) Minorities at Risk. Washington: United States Institute of Peace.Google Scholar
Hasisi, Badi, & Weitzer, Ronald (2007) “Police Relations with Arabs and Jews in Israel,” 47 British J. of Criminology 728–745.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinds, Lyn, & Murphy, Kristina (2007) “Public Satisfaction with Police: Using Procedural Justice to Improve Police Legitimacy,” 40 Australian and New Zealand J. of Criminology 27–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horowitz, Donald L. (1985) Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.Google Scholar
Horowitz, Donald L. (2001) The Deadly Ethnic Riots. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univ. of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyder, Aziz (2008) The Arab Society in Israel: Population, Society and Economy. Jerusalem: Van Leer Institute.Google Scholar
Jonathan, Tal, & Weisburd, David (2010) “How do Majority Communities View the Potential Costs of Policing Terrorism? Findings from a Community Survey in Israel,” 4 Policing 169–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Charles, & Melvin, Neil J. (1999/2000) “Diaspora Politics: Ethnic Linkages, Foreign Policy, and Security in Eurasia,” 24 International Security 108–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leventhal, Gerald S. (1976) “Fairness in Socail Realtioship,” in Thibaut, J.W., Spense, J.T., & Carlson, R.C., eds., Contemporary Topics in Social Psychology. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.Google Scholar
Lum, Cynthia (2007) “Examining Collateral Effects of Counterterrorism Interventions: Airport Security Screening,” Congressional Briefing Presentation, Senate Russell Building, September 10, 2007.Google Scholar
Lundman, Richard J., & Kaufman, Robert L. (2003) “Driving While Black: Effects of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender on Citizen Self-Report of Traffic Stops and Police Actions,” 41 Criminology 195–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mastrofski, Stephen. D., Snipes, Jeffrey B., & Supina, Anne E. (1996) “Compliance on Demand: The Public's Response to Specific Police Requests,” 33 J. of Research in Crime and Delinquency 269–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Research Council (2004) “Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence. Committee to Review Research on Police Policy and Practices,” in Skogan, W., & Frydl, K., eds., Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Persico, Nicola, & Todd, Petra E. (2005) “Passenger Profiling, Imperfect Screening, and Airport Security,” 95 The American Economic Rev. 127–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reisig, Michael D., Bratton, Jason, & Gertz, Marc (2007) “The Construct Validity and Refinement of Process-Based Policing Measures,” Criminal Justice and Behavior 34 1005–1028.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rouhana, Nadim (1997) Palestinian Citizens in an Ethnic Jewish State: Identities in Conflict. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Seiders, Kathleen, & Berry, Leonard L. (1998) “Service Fairness: What Is It and What It Matters,” 9 Academy of Management Executive 65–91.Google Scholar
Sindhav, Birud, et al. (2006) “The Impact of Perceived Fairness on Satisfaction: Are Airport Security Measures Fair? Does It Matter?” 14 J. of Marketing Theory and Practice 323–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skolnick, Jerome (1966) Justice without Trail: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Google Scholar
Smooha, Sammy (1992) Arabs and Jews in Israel, vol. 2. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Sunshine, Jason, & Tyler, Tom (2003) “The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support to Policing,” 37 Law & Society Rev. 513–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tankebe, Justice (2009) “Public Cooperation with the Police in Ghana: Does Procedural Fairness Matter?” 47 Criminology 1265–1293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Arab Association for Human Rights (2006) “Suspected Citizens: Racial Profiling against Arab Passengers by Israeli Airports and Airlines,” http://www.arabhra.org/HraAdmin/UserImages/Files/AirportReportEnglish.pdf (accessed 3 Sep. 2009).Google Scholar
Thibaut, John, & Walker, Laurens (1975) Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom (1990) Why People Obey the Law. London: Yale Univ. Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom (1997) “Procedural Fairness and Compliance with the Law,” 133 Swiss J. of Economics and Statistics 219–240.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom (2000) “Social Justice: Outcome and Procedure,” 35 International J. of Psychology 117–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, Tom (2001) “Public Trust and Confidence in Legal Authorities: What Do Majority and Minority Group Members Want from the Law and Legal Institutions?” 19 Behavioral Sciences and the Law 215–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyler, Tom (2004a) “Enhancing Police Legitimacy,” 593 (1; May) The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 593–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, Tom (2004b) “Police Fairness: Legitimacy as the Consent of the Public,” in Skogan, W., & Frydl, K., eds., Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing: The Evidence. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom & Fagan, Jeffrey A. (2008) “Legitimacy and Cooperation: Why do People Help the Police Fight Crime in their Communities?” 6 Ohio State J. of Criminal Law 231–275.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom & Huo, Yuen J. (2002) Trust in the Law: Encouraging Public Cooperation with the Police and the Courts. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom, et al. (1997) Social Justice in a Diverse Society. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom & Smith, Heather J. (1997) “Social Justice and Social Movements,” in Gilbert, D., Fiske, S., & Lindzey, G., eds., Handbook of Social Psychology, 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom, Stephen, Schulhofer, & Aziz, Huq (2010) “Legitimacy and Deterrence Effects in Counterterrorism Policing: A Study of Muslim Americans,” 44 Law & Society Rev. 365–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, Tom & Wakslak, Cheryl (2004) “Profiling and Police Legitimacy: Procedural Justice, Attributions of Motive, and Acceptance of Police Authority,” 42 Criminology 253–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United State General Accounting Office (2004) “Aviation Security: Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System Face Significant Implementation Challenges,” Report to Congressional Committees. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04385.pdf (accessed 1 October 2011).Google Scholar
Weisburd, David, & Britt, Chester (2007) Statistics in Criminal Justice, 3rd ed. New York: Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Weisburd, David & Piquero, Alex (2008) “How Well Do Criminologists Explain Crime?: Statistical Modeling in Published Studies,” 17 Crime and Justice 453–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weitzer, Ronald (2000) “Radicalization Policing: Residents’ Perceptions in Three Neighborhoods,” 34 Law & Society Rev. 129–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weitzer, Ronald & Tuch, Steve (1999) “Race, Class, and Perception of Discrimination by the Police,” 45 Crime and Delinquency 494–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weitzer, Ronald (2002) “Perception of Racial Profiling: Race, Class and Personal Experience,” 40 Criminology 435–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lum, Cynthia (2004) “Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct,” 51(3) Social Problem 305–325.Google Scholar
Weitzer, Ronald (2006) Race and Policing in America: Conflict and Reform. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, Mervin F., Cox, Terry C., & Basehart, John (1991) “Theoretical Considerations of Officer Profanity and Obscenity in Formal Contacts with Citizens,” in Barker, T., & Carter, D. L., eds., Police Deviance. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Company.Google Scholar