Enhancing Procedural Justness of Encounters Through Substantiation (EPJETS): The Atlantic County Randomized Controlled Trial, New Jersey, 2022-2024

The Enhancing Procedural Justness of Encounters Through Substantiation (EPJETS) project was a collaborative initiative between researchers from Stockton, Rutgers, and Northwestern Universities and the police departments of Atlantic City and Pleasantville, New Jersey that aimed to test whether incorporating principles of procedural justice, sharing body-worn camera (BWC) footage with drivers following traffic stops, and strategically targeting identified high-traffic crash locations for enforcement could improve public trust and perceptions of police legitimacy. Between October 2022 and June 2024, the study evaluated 1,423 traffic stops conducted for speeding violations by comparing standard enforcement protocols to a novel procedural justice-based intervention. Drivers who were speeding were surveyed immediately after the stop by researchers to determine whether the EPJETS protocol positively affected their perceptions of officer treatment and the effectiveness of BWCs.