Impact of propensity to trust on the perception of police: an integrated framework of legitimacy perspective

Abstract

PurposeThe study aims to examine whether a baseline trait-level characteristic, in this case propensity to trust, impacts peoples' perception of procedural justice, police legitimacy, trustworthiness, obligation to obey and cooperation.Design/methodology/approachUsing Hamm and colleagues' (2017) integrated framework of legitimacy (IFL) as the theoretical framework, the current research explores whether individual trait characteristic differences matter. Using a Korean survey in 2019 with 2188 samples aged 19 to 28, this study conducted structural equation modeling to assess the impact of propensity to trust on the latent factors of the IFL.FindingsThe results support the findings of the original IFL. Specifically, when it comes to citizens' perception of police legitimacy, propensity to trust positively and significantly impacts latent factors such as procedural justice, trustworthiness, trust and obligation to obey. However, it fails to impact cooperation in any capacity.Originality/valuePerception of police legitimacy has been researched extensively by various scholars. Specifically, Tyler's (1990) procedural justice model has been the main focus of police legitimacy research for the past 30 years. However, the current study aims to explore the possibility of trait-level characteristic that may influence peoples' perception of police legitimacy. Specifically, the authors aim to assess individual propensity to trust tendency and its impact on police legitimacy.

Public Perceptions of Police in Fiji

“….” Quantitative survey results show that two-thirds (69%) of participants do not respect, trust , and have confidence in the police and only one-third (31%) of public respect, trust, and have faith in the police. Similarly, during the qualitative interviews, participants revealed: “I do not trust the police because police were involved during the 1987 coup”; “police officers are involved in buying and selling drugs”; “police revealed my name to the offenders when I told police about offenders”; and “police favour their family members, friends, and rich people.” In the literature, Adla et al (2017), Lee and Lee (2021), Morris (2015), and Howes et al (2021) found that if the public does not respect, trust and have confidence in the police; then they are more likely not to cooperate with the police.…”

Do cultural values influence how we perceive the police? Examining the cultural impact of Confucian values on the perception of police legitimacy

“…Furthermore, Lee and Cho (2020) suggested that procedural justice had a very limited influence on the citizens' perception of legitimacy. Conversely, a few recent studies have concluded that procedural justice was a significant and primary predictor of legitimacy (Lee and Lee, 2021; Lee et al ., 2022a, b). In sum, police legitimacy research in South Korea is inconclusive and requires further exhaustive investigation.…”

“…Boateng and Buckner, 2019; Boateng et al ., 2022; Bradford et al ., 2014; Gau, 2015; Jackson et al ., 2012; Murphy et al ., 2014; Reisig et al ., 2014; Sun et al ., 2018), most of the research still focused on procedural justice as the main predictor of police legitimacy. In particular, past research on procedural justice examined macro-level predictors such as neighborhood context (Liu et al ., 2020; Reisig et al ., 2021; Sprott and Doob, 2009), micro-level factors such as fear of crime (Kautt, 2011; Liu and Wu, 2023), the propensity to trust (Lee and Lee, 2021) and demographic characteristics like age, gender, education and socio-economic status (Hsieh and Boateng, 2015). Although past literature added to the knowledge of the relationship between procedural justice and the perception of legitimacy, we believe the legitimacy literature needs to be expanded.…”

Exploring Social Media’s Impact on Societal Perceptions of Police Legitimacy and Cooperation

“…Citizens constantly and actively evaluate the behavior of law enforcement and the views of legitimacy citizens hold of the police may be withdrawn if police behavior ceases to conform to the widely accepted norms of fairness (Milani & Jackson,217). Lee and Lee (2021) listed four stages of police legitimacy: (1) interaction, (2) evaluation, (3)…”

“…Some cooperate out of fear of jail, and others cooperate because they see them as legitimate. Lee and Lee (2021) argue that citizens cooperate with the police for normative and instrumental reasons. Normative concerns include personal views (how a person feels they should behave) and legitimacy (views of whether police have authority over them) influence cooperation (p. 1108).…”