The Scottish Community Engagement Trial (ScotCET)

The world’s first randomised field trial of procedurally just policing, the Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET) was developed by UQ researchers and led by the ARC Centre of Policing and Security. ScotCET is Scotland’s replication of QCET, testing whether “procedurally just” encounters between police and citizens improves citizen perceptions of police.

ScotCET aims to replicate the Queensland Community Engagement Trial (QCET) by employing an experimental approach in the context of road policing in Scotland.  The trial tests whether the introduction of improved mechanisms for communicating procedural justice during routine encounters between police and members of the public can influence public opinion on police and encourage conferment of greater legitimacy on the police. This presentation outlines the process and pitfalls of replication, and discusses the emerging findings, how these might be interpreted and what the implications for future research and policy might be.