Police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice (1): New Perspectives on Police-Citizen Relations

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

Since the publication of the 2015 Presidential Taskforce Report on 21st Century Policing there has been a groundswell of interest in research on police legitimacy and procedural justice. The Taskforce Report recommended that police could build their legitimacy and improve relations with racial minority communities through adhering to procedural justice principles. Good police-citizen relations are crucial for an effective criminal justice system. Without community support, police would struggle to control and prevent crime. Drawing on innovative new research from around the world this panel of presentations brings together an international group of scholars undertaking research on policing. Papers presented in these two panels utilize different methodologies (survey research, interviews, randomized control trials) to examine the policing of minority communities, immigrants, and youth. They also examine how police practices can shape community perceptions about the legitimacy of police and the public’s willingness to work collaboratively with police. Importantly, the research highlights the importance of police being viewed as fair, respectful, neutral and trustworthy (all aspects of procedural justice). The research also demonstrates that procedural justice policing can have variant effects on public trust and cooperation depending on the population or policing context being studied.

Sub Unit

• Area VIII: Policing / 54: Police, Communities, and Legitimacy

Individual Presentations

• Disentangling the Knots: Police Legitimacy, Minority Status, Discrimination and Immigration in 26 European Countries - Ben Bradford, University of Oxford; Jonathan Jackson, London School of Economics

• Building Trust and Cooperation with Police using Procedural Justice: The Importance of Police Legitimacy and Law Legitimacy - Kristina Murphy, Griffith University; Natasha Madon, Griffith University

• Promoting Ethnic Minority Engagement with Police: Does Procedural Justice Matter? - Natasha Madon, Griffith University; Kristina Murphy, Griffith University

• Predicting Ethnic Minority Group Defiance Toward Police: Testing an Integrated Model of Emotion, Legitimacy and Procedural Justice - Elise Sargeant, Griffith University; Kristina Murphy, Griffith University; Natasha Madon, Griffith University

Chair

• Wesley Skogan, Northwestern University