Inaction on Crime Reports: Examining Police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasile Rotaru
2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M Leslie ◽  
Adrian Cherney ◽  
Andrew Smirnov ◽  
Helene Wells ◽  
Robert Kemp ◽  
...  

While procedural justice has been highlighted as a key strategy for promoting cooperation with police, little is known about this model’s applicability to subgroups engaged in illegal behaviour, such as illicit drug users. This study compares willingness to cooperate with police and belief in police legitimacy, procedural justice and law legitimacy among a population-based sample of Australian young adult amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS; i.e. ecstasy and methamphetamine) users and non-users. We then examine predictors of willingness to cooperate among ATS users. ATS users were significantly less willing to cooperate with police and had significantly lower perceptions of police legitimacy, procedural justice and law legitimacy, compared to non-users. However, belief in police legitimacy independently predicted willingness to cooperate among ATS users. We set out to discuss the implications of these findings for policing, including the role of procedural justice in helping police deliver harm reduction strategies.


Author(s):  
Renée J. Mitchell ◽  
Kendall Von Zoller

The public's perception of police legitimacy is viewed through the lens of procedural justice (Tyler, 2003). Legitimacy it is a perception held by an audience (Tankebe & Liebling, 2013). Tyler (2006, p. 375) defines legitimacy as “a psychological property of an authority, institution, or social arrangement that leads those connected to it to believe that it is appropriate, proper, and just.” Four aspects of the police contact that affects a citizen's view: active participation in the decision-making, the decision-making is neutral and objective, trustworthy motives, and being treated with dignity and respect (Tyler, 2004). Accordingly an officer should act in a way that supports citizen's active participation, conveys an air of neutrality, and enhances dignity and respect. One way an officer can transmit his intent is through communicative intelligence. Communicative intelligence is a communication theory based on five capabilities (Zoller, 2015). These authors intend to link communicative intelligence to behaviors officers should engage in to enhance PJ and improve PL.


2020 ◽  
pp. 001112872097743
Author(s):  
Michael D. Reisig ◽  
Michaela Flippin ◽  
Gorazd Meško ◽  
Rick Trinkner

The invariance thesis posits that the effects of procedural justice judgments on police legitimacy beliefs are consistent across a variety of contexts, including urban neighborhoods. An alternative argument, one steeped in the relational model of authority, holds that procedural justice effects are weaker in high-crime communities where residents do not identify with the police and where they place more weight on instrumental concerns. This study used survey data from 1,000 adults in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The regression models showed that the association between procedural justice and police legitimacy was stronger in low-risk neighborhoods. In high-risk areas, distributive justice was a stronger correlate of legitimacy. Overall, the findings highlight how neighborhood context can moderate the influence of fairness judgments on supportive beliefs.


Author(s):  
Jasmine R. Silver

PurposeThis study extends legitimacy theory by examining individualizing and binding moral motives and perceptions of police.Design/methodology/approachData are drawn from an online survey of the public (N = 961). OLS regression is used to predict global perceptions of legitimacy, as well as department legitimacy and acceptance of force in an experimental vignette that manipulates procedural justice.FindingsThe binding moral motive is associated with greater global and department legitimacy and acceptance of force. The individualizing moral motive is associated with reduced global legitimacy and acceptance of force, and with department legitimacy when procedural justice is low. Perceptions of legitimacy mediate the effects of the binding moral motive on acceptance of force and of the individualizing moral motive when procedural justice is low.Research limitations/implicationsThis study identifies novel antecedents of police legitimacy and acceptance of force (i.e. binding and individualizing moral motives).Social implicationsThis study provides insight into public attitudes regarding use of force.Originality/valueThis study is the first to propose and test a link between binding and individualizing moral motives and perceptions of police.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088740342091525
Author(s):  
Siyu Liu ◽  
Esther Nir

Through interviews ( n = 40) and surveys ( n = 140) with separate samples of U.S. defense attorneys practicing criminal law in a Northeastern state, we utilize a mixed-methods approach to explore police procedural transgressions (e.g., pretextual stops, overreaching searches) during stops, searches, and seizures. With a structural equation path model, we examine whether and how procedural justice (an assessment of “the means” to control crime) and police effectiveness (an assessment of police performance or “the ends”) affect each other and influence perceptions of police legitimacy. Our findings indicate that procedural justice enhances perceptions of police legitimacy, whereas police effectiveness does not have an effect. Policy implications for developing mechanisms that discourage procedural transgressions by police are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1200-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Starr J. Solomon

Procedural justice is often recognized as the key antecedent of police legitimacy. However, less is known about how the components of procedural justice, treatment and decision-making quality, influence perceptions of police legitimacy. This study utilizes a 2 × 2 × 2 survey experiment to explore the direct effects of the components of procedural justice, and the moderating effects of driver race, on perceptions of encounter-specific fairness and legitimacy. Results indicate that treatment quality is a more salient predictor of encounter-specific fairness and legitimacy than decision-making quality. In addition, simple effects analyses reveal that driver race moderates perceptions of encounter-specific fairness but not encounter-specific perceptions of legitimacy. The findings imply that police officers should emphasize respectful treatment during encounters with the public.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document