Institutional Legitimacy and Procedural Justice within Police Agencies: A Survey of Police Officers in Oregon

• In Event: Stress/Burnout and Satisfaction Among Police Officers

Abstract

The role of legitimacy has gained increasing attention within the field of criminal justice, but the little in known in the context of the institutional legitimacy within law enforcement organizations. The majority of previous studies that examined the institutional legitimacy of businesses and corporations concluded that the exercise of procedural justice by authorities improves workers’ trust, motivations, and satisfactions. Furthermore, Tyler and De Cremer (2005) also suggest that the enactment of procedurally fair leadership/organizational model is effective in increasing workers’ support for their organizations, leading to voluntary cooperation, and shaping reactions to change.

Based on a statewide survey of sworn officers in Oregon’s law enforcement agencies (i.e., state police, sheriff’s offices, municipal police), the present study extends the previous research with the new data. Specifically, it attempts to examine whether the officers’ perceived institutional legitimacy in their daily practices have an influence on their organizational evaluations, as well as its interrelationship between agency type, ranking, and other demographic factors. Both practical recommendations and policy implications of our findings, as well as research limitations and directions to our future research are discussed.

Authors

• Mari Sakiyama, Western Oregon University

• Terry Gingerich, Western Oregon University

• Greg Willeford, Western Oregon University