Legitimacy-based policing

Research Summary

In the latter decades of the 20th century, criminology was dominated by models emphasizing the top-down management of crime. Police departments used their expertise to design policies and relied on their capacity to deploy force to implement them to deter crime. During the early 21st century, the field of criminology recognized the need to pay attention to community views about the legitimacy of policing and police practices. Efforts to address these concerns initially drew upon the social psychological literature for a theoretically based and empirically supported model of legitimacy. That literature both demonstrates that legitimacy impacts upon law-related behavior and shows that the justice of the procedures through which authority is created and implemented shapes legitimacy. Criminologists have now tested and found support for these ideas in studies of the courts, the police, and correctional institutions.

Policy Implications

Today, legitimacy-based legal authority is an important area in criminology and provides an alternative to coercive models. Legal authorities can gain compliance with the law and with their decisions by relying upon the public's feelings of obligation and responsibility to defer to legitimate authorities. This model is effective and minimizes the resistance and hostility that is often generated by coercive commands. The legitimacy-based model has the further advantage of better encouraging cooperation from people in the community, aiding efforts to identify and prosecute criminals. Finally, it supports long-term development by promoting residents’ social, economic, and political engagement in their communities.