Are Trustworthiness and Legitimacy ‘Hard to Win, Easy to Lose’? A Longitudinal Test of the Asymmetry Thesis of Police-Citizen Contact

Abstract

Objectives Test the asymmetry thesis of police-citizen contact that police trustworthiness and legitimacy are affected more by negative than by positive experiences of interactions with legal agents by analyzing changes in attitudes towards the police after an encounter with the police. Test whether prior attitudes moderate the impact of contact on changes in attitudes towards the police. Methods A two-wave panel survey of a nationally representative sample of Australian adults measured people’s beliefs about police trustworthiness (procedural fairness and effectiveness), their duty to obey the police, their contact with the police between the two waves, and their evaluation of those encounters in terms of process and outcome. Analysis is carried out using autoregressive structural equation modeling and latent moderated structural models. Results The association between both process and outcome evaluation of police-citizen encounters and changes in attitudes towards the police is asymmetrical for trust in police effectiveness, symmetrical for trust in procedural fairness, and asymmetrical (in the opposite direction expected) for duty to obey the police. Little evidence of heterogeneity in the association between encounters and trust in procedural fairness and duty to obey, but prior levels of perceived effectiveness moderate the association between outcome evaluation and changes in trust in police effectiveness. Conclusions The association between police-citizen encounters and attitudes towards the police may not be as asymmetrical as previously thought, particularly for changes in trust in procedural fairness and legitimacy. Policy implications include considering public-police interactions as ‘teachable moments’ and potential sources for enhancing police trustworthiness and legitimacy.

Contacts with Police Officers and Changes in Police Legitimacy Perceptions Among Brazilian Adolescents Over Time

“…This means that adolescents with consecutive negative experiences with the police legitimates that authority to a lesser degree than those who have never had a negative encounter. This finding corroborates what has been found by studies conducted in different populations (Fagan and Piquero 2007;Oliveira et al 2019;Tyler and Fagan 2008). It seems clear that the interactions of police and youth on the streets can shape the perceptions of these youth about the legitimacy of the police and influence law-related behaviors, as stated by Tyler et al (2014).…”

“…Thus, the findings suggest that trajectory shifting may be more impactful for some adolescents than the constancy or absence of negative contact at all three waves. Skogan (2006) and Oliveira et al (2019) also bring evidence in this direction. Also, at this point, it is pertinent to note that groups whose trajectory was accompanied by changes in the increase or decrease in the acceptance of police legitimacy also presented higher proportions of affirmative response in which the duty to obey the police only occurs for fear of punishment.…”

“…He postulated the asymmetric impact of police encounters: the negative effect of having a bad experience with police is considerably greater than the positive effect of a good experience may have on appraisals of police activity. Recently, Oliveira et al (2019) tested the limits of Skogan's "asymmetry thesis" with longitudinal data from Australia. Among other tests, they compared individuals with some history of police contact with others with no contact, in order to identify if people change attitudes toward police after their encounters.…”

Legal Cynicism, Intrusive Policing, and the Dynamics of Police Legitimacy: Evidence from Brazil’s Largest City

“…However, considering that (a) there is more than one definition of legal cynicism and various corresponding measurement strategies, (b) my focus is on individual perceptions of the neighborhood rather than on neighborhood-level analysis, and (c) I am only analyzing perceptions of police conduct (as opposed to views about the law itself), I use the expression perceived underpolicing in order to avoid any confusions. As a task-specific evaluation of police conduct, perceived underpolicing can be framed as one aspect of police (un)trustworthiness (Oliveira et al 2020a): it refers to one's expectations that police officers will fail to provide protection or ensure public safety in their community.…”

“…As task-specific expectations of police conduct, perceptions of overpolicing and underpolicing can be framed as particular aspects of police (un)trustworthiness based on procedural justice theory (see Oliveira et al 2020a). If one expects the police to generally be effective at fighting crime, then one trusts the police to be effective; if one expects police officers to generally act with fairness, then one trusts the police to be procedurally fair.…”