Retheorizing Trust in Criminal Justice Scholarship

• In Event: Police Legitimacy and Trust

Abstract

Trust has—at least implicitly—become a core theoretical footing of criminal justice scholarship. This work typically centers relationships between individual CJS actors and “the public”, especially through evaluations of procedural fairness (Tyler, 2006) but, in so doing, obscures the actual complexity of the construct. Thus, there is a need to recognize the complicated network of individuals, organizations, and institutions, each of which needs some level of trust to overcome their uncertainty regarding their potential for experiencing harm. Law-abiding citizens report feeling vulnerable, not only to their law-breaking counterparts (Hale 1996) but to law enforcement itself (Pickett et al., 2022). Police officers report feeling vulnerable, not only to job hazards (Sierra-Arevalo, 2024), but also to law-abiding citizens whose intervention (e.g., recording) or opinions might threaten their employment or self-concept (Mourtgos et al., 2019) and to their colleagues and command staff who may treat them unfairly (Wolfe & Lawson, 2020). Academics are also vulnerable in their relationships with the police and the public, not only for their ability to conduct research (e.g., Bohossian et al., 2012) but also for their self-concept, which is often rooted in their practical impact and career advancement (Sormani & Uude, 2022).

Authors

• Joseph A. Hamm, Michigan State University

• Alexa Banning, Michigan State University

• Miyeon Kim, Michigan State University

• Yang Vincent Liu, Oakland University

• Travis Olson, Michigan State University

• Amanda Isabel Osuna, Michigan State University

• Tiffany Williams, Michigan State University

• Makayla Burden, Michigan State University

• Jennifer Carrera, Michigan State University