Assessing Police Legitimacy in Emerging Democracies: The Case of India

• In Event: Legitimacy, Crime, and Policing in International Contexts

Abstract

Research on police legitimacy has received considerable attention from policing scholars in developed western democracies in recent decades. Among the various measures employed to test legitimacy include constructs of citizens' trust and confidence in police. This research examines factors that determine citizens' trust and confidence with police services in India, a former British colony and a relatively young democracy. Prior research on post-colonial policing suggests high degree of corruption and nepotism among police forces. Thus, the specific goal of this paper is assess the determinants of police legitimacy, the degree to which perceived police corruption, among other attributes such as procedural fairness and professionalism explains trust and confidence in police. We employed a multistage cluster and quota sampling technique to draw data from 1287 respondents from the capital city of India, New Delhi. Findings and policy implications are discussed.

Authors

• Mahesh K. Nalla, Michigan State University

• Manish Madan, Stockton University