The legitimacy of the police: Comparing perceptions in young people from Mexico and Spain

• In Event: Legitimacy of authority figures and legal socialization in adolescents across different sociocultural contexts

Abstract

The legitimacy of the police has been recognized as a central aspect of the functioning of the justice system in democratic regimes, and the academic debate has therefore been concerned with understanding the aspects that make the police enjoy the support of citizens for their actions. In this forum, we focus on the opinion and evaluation of this institution by young people, who are in a complicated phase of life in terms of their relationship with authority. Using the procedural justice model and the legal socialization model as analytical frameworks, we compared the results obtained with the application of ISRD-3 in Spain and Mexico. That is, in a country where the police is one of the most valued institutions, and in Mexico, where the police institution is the least valued by the population. The results are discussed in terms of the universality of the evidence on procedural justice.

Authors

• Áurea Esther Grijalva Eternod, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

• Esther Fernandez Molina, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha

• Raquel Bartolomé Gutiérrez, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha