Legitimacy and protest policing in Israeli communities: The case of the “Occupy Israel” movement

• In Event: Police Legitimacy I

Abstract

Public attitudes towards the police, especially trust in the police and police legitimacy, have been found to be a key element in citizens’ cooperation and obedience in democratic societies. Previous literature has shown that the relationship built between police officers and citizens in the community, alongside neighborhood socio-demographic characteristics, have a significant effect on these attitudes. However, the effect of neighborhood characteristics has not yet been tested in the context of protest policing. Using quantitative and qualitative data from 20 “occupy Israel” protest events in the summer of 2012 in four main cities in Israel, we argue that neighborhood characteristics, socio-demographic differences and the presence of minority groups influence the nature of protest policing, attitudes towards the police and the potential violence in protest events.

Author

• Gali Perry, Hebrew University