Does trust in supervisors translate to compliance and cooperation? A test of internal procedural justice among Taiwanese police officers

Abstract

The procedural justice model of policing has gained much popularity in scholarship and empirical support in democracies, yet research on the procedural justice within police organizations, particularly the mediating mechanisms connecting internal procedural justice and officer behavioral tendencies, is rather limited. With an aid of survey data collected from Taiwanese police officers, this study tests the connections between internal procedural justice and officers’ compliance with agency rules and cooperation with supervisors via an essential element—trust in supervisors. Internal procedural justice was found to be directly related to trust in supervisors and officer cooperation with supervisor, whereas the association between internal procedural justice and compliance with agency rules is mainly indirect through trust in supervisors. This study concludes with discussing research and pragmatic implications of findings.

Explaining Police Procedural Justice in a Democracy: An Expanded Internal-External Model

“…Treating subordinates in a respectful and polite manner also demonstrates supervisors’ sincere concerns about organizational members’ welfare and good intentions, especially when the interaction is initiated by themselves, the side with power (Murphy, 2009). In addition, a procedurally fair working environment promotes officers’ commitment to organizational rules and values (Bradford et al, 2014) and breed a sense of trust (Wang et al, 2020). Procedural justice, which comprises fair treatment as well as fair process to reach decisions, promotes members’ voluntary compliance with organizational rules and commitment to authorities’ values.…”

“…In addition, procedural justice studies have indicated that internal procedural justice is connected to external procedural justice directly and indirectly via job-related satisfaction and strain in Taiwan (Wu, et al, 2017). It has been found that trust in the public domain promotes officer fair treatment of citizens in this democracy (Sun, et al, 2018), and Taiwanese officers’ trust in supervisors increase their compliance with police agency rules and cooperation with supervisors (Wang, et al, 2020). Also, Taiwan and China have often been compared because of their similarities (e.g., language, culture, history) and sharp differences (e.g., political system), and it is interesting to note that people on the democratic side rate a lower level of trust in the criminal justice system than those on the authoritarian side (Hsieh & Boateng, 2015; Wu, 2014).…”

“…Second, we continue the centrality of legitimacy in the procedural justice scholarship by analyzing the mediating role of supervisor trustworthiness and officer self-legitimacy (e.g., officers’ recognition of their own legitimacy to rule). Recent studies found that officers’ trust in supervisors increased their compliance with agency rules and cooperation with supervisors (Wang et al, 2020). Similarly, officers’ perceived self-legitimacy plays a key role in connecting the social context of policing, both working environment (e.g., fair supervisors and organization) and social supports, to external procedural justice given to citizens (Bradford & Quinton, 2014; Tankebe, 2019).…”

Predictors of self-legitimacy among military police officers in São Paulo, Brazil

“…Self-legitimacy is also an important aspect in understanding the use of physical force by officers because it provides officers with greater self-assurance when giving commands that they will be obeyed by citizens (Tankebe, 2011). Police officers with positive self-legitimacy tend to be more supportive of suspects' rights and less likely to support an increase in the use of force in policing (Bradford and Quinton, 2014); more likely to use verbal warnings rather than threats of physical force to take control of situations (Tankebe and Me sko, 2015); and show a greater willingness to collaborate with and work within the agency's rules and policies (Wang et al, 2020). They also tend to not develop cynical views of the law, policies and senior management's leadership (Bradford and Quinton, 2014) and to be "protected" from the negative effects of media coverage of high-profile incidents such as Ferguson (Wolfe and Nix, 2015).…”

Perceived COVID-19 impacts on auxiliary police in China

“…First, we expand the literature on organizational justice by assessing whether supervisor justice can predict officers' perceived COVID-19 impacts. Drawing upon the procedural justice framework within the police organization, recent studies have consistently found linkages between supervisor justice and beneficial outcomes, such as officer fair and just treatment toward the public, compliance with policies and cooperation with supervisors, and reduced sensitivity to negative incidents (Kutnjak-Ivkovic et al, 2020;Nix and Wolfe, 2016;Van Craen and Skogan, 2017;Wang et al, 2020;Wu et al, 2017). Studies on COVID-19 policing also revealed that organizational climates and responses to the pandemic influence officers' occupational attitudes and behavior (Kyprianides et al, 2022).…”