Legitimacy in Policing: An Updated Systematic Review

• In Event: Evidence-Based Crime Policy II

Abstract

Police require voluntary cooperation from the general public to be effective in controlling crime and maintaining order. Research shows that citizens are more likely to comply and cooperate with police and obey the law when they view the police as legitimate. One pathway that the police use to increase citizen perceptions of legitimacy is through the use of procedural justice. Procedural justice, as described in the literature, comprises four essential components: treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens “voice” during encounters, being neutral in decision making, and conveying trustworthy motives. This paper reports the results of an update of the 2009 Campbell systematic review on legitimacy in policing using published and unpublished evaluation evidence from 2009 to 2017.

Authors

• Lorraine Mazerolle, University of Queensland

• Sarah Bennett, University of Queensland

• Liz Eggins, University of Queensland

• Angela Higginson, Queensland University of Technology

• Emma Antrobus, University of Queensland