Police Contact, Procedural Injustice, and Drug Use

Abstract

Drawing on general strain theory, this article explores whether young people’s perceptions of procedural injustice in their interactions with police, as well as their economic dissatisfaction, are associated with drug use. We examine whether levels of police contact increase the likelihood of perceptions of procedural injustice, and if the relationships between procedural injustice and drug use as well as economic dissatisfaction and drug use are influenced by associations with drug-using peers, legal cynicism, and levels of social support. Using a sample of 449 individuals aged 16–30 years in three Canadian cities, the findings suggest that police contact has a direct relationship with drug use, but it also has an indirect relationship mediated by procedural injustice. Further, economic dissatisfaction, homelessness, legal cynicism, and drug-using peers are also associated with greater drug use. The relationships between procedural injustice and drug use and economic dissatisfaction and drug use are stronger at lower levels of social support. Findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.