Examining The Role Of Third Parties To Enhance Police Legitimacy

• In Event: Police Legitimacy II

Abstract

This paper examines the use of a specific third party—activist black clergy— to improve minority citizen trust in the police. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 30 black ministers working to reduce youth violence in high-crime neighborhoods previously marred by tense police-minority community relations in Boston, Massachusetts. Study findings reveal that police can enhance their legitimacy by partnering with important local organizations that can effectively broker trust between neighborhood residents and the police. Specifically, the research reveals how a group of activist black clergy gained citizen trust and extended it to the police, resulting in strengthened police- minority community relations.

Authors

• Kashea Pegram, Rutgers University, Newark

• Rod K. Brunson, Rutgers University

• Anthony A. Braga, Rutgers University / Harvard University

• Robert Apel, Rutgers University