Understanding the decline: a procedural justice approach to the key factors behind the downward shift in opinions of police

Figures & data

Figure 1. Overview of methods.

Table 1. Matched newspaper articles for public commentary extraction.

Newspaper article time-period 1	Date published	Number of comments	Newspaper article time-period 2	Date published	Number of comments	Matching details
Queensland Police release body-worn camera footage of speeding motorists	Courier Mail, 22 December 2016	23	Speeding blitz: 22 drivers, 3 hours, 1 road	Courier Mail, 9 July 2020	7	Traffic and road safety Mutual focus on speeding issues Common point of police-public interaction
Front line female police officers hurt in attacks	Daily Telegraph, 19 November 2016	52	Police face more ‘life and death’ situations than ever	Herald Sun, 9 November 2020	18	Police safety and occupational risks Focus on the risks, challenges, and occupational hazards faced by police officers
			Police leave in larger numbers despite recruitment drive	Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 2020	49
Man shot at Westfield Hornsby was given day release from mental health facility	Sydney Morning Herald, 10 June 2016	57	‘Systemic failures’: Family performs courtroom haka to remember Jack Kokaua,	Sydney Morning Herald, 8 November 2020	29	Police use of force Police-involved fatalities by use of force Specifically concerning individuals with mental health issues

Table 2. Sentiment of headlines by time-period.

	Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Difference between time-periods
Sentiment	n	%	n	%	n	%
Positive	31	14.16	31	4.87	–	-9.29
Neutral	152	69.46	485	76.26	333	6.80
Negative	34	15.53	119	18.71	85	3.18
Unclear	2	0.91	1	0.16	-1	-0.75
Total	219	100.00	636	100.00	417	0.00

Table 3. Topical themes of headlines by sentiment per time-period.

	Police investigations				Controversies and misconduct				Crime				Public safety and community				Police welfare
	Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2
Sentiment	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Negative	2	0.91	7	1.10	20	9.13	61	9.59	1	0.46	9	1.42	5	2.28	12	1.89	–	0.00	3	0.47
Neutral	50	22.83	130	20.44	7	3.20	19	2.99	27	12.33	81	12.74	14	6.39	63	9.91	4	1.88	24	3.77
Positive	5	2.28	5	0.79	–	0.00	–	0.00	13	5.94	3	0.47	4	1.83	7	1.10	3	1.37	7	1.10
Unclear	1	0.46	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00
Total	58	26.48	142	22.33	27	12.33	80	12.58	41	18.72	93	14.62	23	10.50	82	12.89	7	3.20	34	5.35
Negative	4	1.83	13	2.04	1	0.46	4	0.63	1	0.46	5	0.79	-	0.00	5	0.79	34	15.53	119	18.71
Neutral	17	7.76	27	4.25	10	4.57	37	5.82	23	10.50	37	5.82	–	0.00	67	10.53	152	69.46	485	76.26
Positive	3	1.37	4	0.63	1	0.46	–	0.00	2	0.91	3	0.47	–	0.00	2	0.31	31	14.16	31	4.87
Unclear	–	0.00	1	0.16	–	0.00	–	0.00	1	0.46	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	2	0.91	1	0.16
Total	24	10.96	45	7.08	12	5.48	41	6.45	27	12.33	45	7.08	–	0.00	74	11.64	219		636

Table 4. Sentiment of public commentary per time-period.

	Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Difference between time-periods
Sentiment	n	%	n	%	n	%
Positive	46	41.82	13	14.77	-33	-27.05
Neutral	8	7.27	22	25.00	14	17.73
Negative	54	49.10	53	60.23	-1	11.13
Unclear	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00
Total	110	100.00	88	100.00	-22	0.00

Table 5. Procedural justice framing of public comments by sentiment per time-period.

	Trust				Neutrality				Respect				Voice				Total
	Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2		Time-period 1		Time-period 2
Sentiment	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Positive	29	38.67	10	21.28	–	0.00	–	0.00	1	100.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	–	0.00	30	39.47	10	12.20
Neutral	4	5.33	5	10.64	–	0.00	4	17.39	–	0.00	2	18.18	–	0.00	1	100.00	4	5.26	12	14.63
Negative	42	56.00	32	68.09	–	0.00	19	82.61	–	0.00	9	81.82	–	0.00	–	0.00	42	55.26	60	73.17
Total	75	100.00	47	100.00	–	0.00	23	100.00	1	100.00	11	100.00	–	0.00	1	100.00	76	100.00	82	100.00

Table

State/Territory^2	Online newspapers (readership in millions)	Publisher
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)	The Canberra Times (0.74)	Australian Community Media
New South Wales (NSW)	Sydney Morning Herald (7.68)	Nine Entertainment Co.
	The Daily Telegraph (3.03)	NewsCorp Australia
Northern Territory (NT)	The Northern Territory News (0.047)	News Corp Australia
Queensland (Qld)	The Courier-Mail (1.77)	News Corp Australia
South Australia (SA)	The Advertiser (1.16)	News Corp Australia
Tasmania (Tas)	The Mercury (0.3)	News Corp Australia
Victoria (Vic)	The Age (5.19)	Fairfax Media
	Herald Sun (2.84)	News Limited
National	The Australian (2.63)	News Corp Australia

(Hughes, 2022c; Hughes, 2023).

Hughes, C. (2022c, December 16). Number of readers of online editions of leading newspapers in Australia as of March 2021. Statista. Retrieved April 15, 2023 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1007696/australia-online-newspaper-readership/

 Google Scholar

Hughes, C. (2023, March 20). Newspaper readership in the northern territory in Australia during the twelve months to March 2021. Statista. Retrieved April 18, 2023 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/944793/newspaper-readership-northern-territory-australia/

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