The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for Policing

Abstract

This study explores two issues about police legitimacy. The first issue is the relative importance of police legitimacy in shaping public support of the police and policing activities, compared to the importance of instrumental judgments about (1) the risk that people will be caught and sanctioned for wrongdoing, (2) the performance of the police in fighting crime, and/or (3) the fairness of the distribution of police services. Three aspects of public support for the police are examined: public compliance with the law, public cooperation with the police, and public willingness to support policies that empower the police. The second issue is which judgments about police activity determine people's views about the legitimacy of the police. This study compares the influence of people's judgments about the procedural justice of the manner in which the police exercise their authority to the influence of three instrumental judgments: risk, performance, and distributive fairness. Findings of two surveys of New Yorkers show that, first, legitimacy has a strong influence on the public's reactions to the police, and second, the key antecedent of legitimacy is the fairness of the procedures used by the police. This model applies to both white and minority group residents.

Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men’s Legal Socialization

“…On the other hand, a strong and proactive police presence also has the potential to promote adolescent well-being, positive feelings about the police, and a sense of security among urban residents, through fair and just practices and improvements to public safety (Powell, 2012;Sunshine & Tyler, 2003;Tyler & Huo, 2002). While these benefits may accrue predominantly to those not personally stopped by the police, youth may also benefit from contact with the police, particularly if these interactions divert them from risky activities or encourage respectful relationship-building within their community (Skogan, Hartnett, Bump, & Dubois, 2008).…”

“…More recently research has suggested that legitimacy also influences the willingness to cooperate with legal authorities, including police officers and judges (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003;Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Hence, it was anticipated that legitimacy would influence law related behavior, a hypothesis we test below.…”

“…These activities create general and salient impressions about how the police exercise their authority, and in turn, about police legitimacy, even among those not stopped (Carr, Napolitano, & Keating, 2007;Sunshine & Tyler, 2003;Tyler, 2006b, Tyler & Fagan, 2008Weitzer, 2000).…”

“…Those behaviors include deference to police authority during personal interactions (Tyler & Huo, 2002); acceptance of police authority as an alternative to private violence or collective disorder (Jackson, Huq, Bradford & Tyler, 2013); heightened compliance with the law (Jackson, Bradford, Hough, Myhill, Quinton & Tyler, 2012;Tyler, 2006a) and increased willingness to cooperate with the police (Jackson, Bradford, Stanko & Hohl, 2012;Sunshine & Tyler, 2003;Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Accordingly, research on the role of legitimacy in law-related behaviors suggests a not-so-hidden cost to the long-term success of policing efforts if the policies and practices of the police undermine their popular legitimacy.…”

Public Confidence in Policing

“…For example the British Crime Survey shows a steady decrease in the proportion of respondents who judge their local police to be doing a very good or fairly good job, dropping from 90% in 1982 to 75% in the financial year 2002/2003(Nicholas & Walker, 2004. Public support and cooperation may suffer as a result (Tyler & Huo, 2002;Sunshine & Tyler, 2003b). Reiner (1992Reiner ( , 2000 provides the most influential thesis on the historical trajectory of police legitimacy in Britain.…”