Abstract
This dissertation in practice sought to explore police officers’ experiences with organizational justice within their police agency. Organizational justice stems from fairness in resource distribution, decision-making procedures, and interpersonal treatment, especially by those in authority positions. In this phenomenological study, 11 peace officers were interviewed from a large police agency in the western United States. After coding, themes were identified and compared to justice theories. Supervising sergeants were perceived to have much discretion and few checks and balances when enforcing policies. Officers were primarily concerned with competence when evaluating their coworkers, not race, gender, or sexual orientation. The female officers interviewed described enduring harassment. Their treatment was described as unfair and without justice. Participants disliked the agency’s promotional process and felt that procedures may not be suitable for selecting the best leaders. I propose solutions for training, promotional testing, and updating harassment reporting procedures.Keywords: organizational justice, police, phenomenology, justice theories, supervisor training, harassment reporting