Exploring Perceptions of Police Legitimacy: The Role of Family, Friends, and Procedural Justice

• Published date: 01 December 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/07340168231159368
• Author: Weston J. Morrow,Samuel G. Vickovic
• Date: 01 December 2024

Exploring Perceptions of Police

Legitimacy: The Role of Family,

Friends, and Procedural Justice

Weston J. Morrow

1

and Samuel G. Vickovic

2

Abstract

Since its inception in 1990, Tyler’s process-based model of regulation has provided a fundamental

framework for understanding why people obey the law. Numerous studies have found support

for Tyler’sprocess-based model of regulation, with the majority of research reporting an association

between procedural justice and legitimacy. The research is limited, however, in its ability to explain

the correlates of legitimacy outside of procedural justice, which is surprising considering research

indicates that the development of behaviors and attitudes toward legal institutions and actors is

complex. Based on the legal socialization literature, the current study explores how perceptions

of police legitimacy may be impacted by family and/or peer views of the police. In order to inves-

tigate this relationship, the current exploratory study relies on data from students located at two

universities in the United States. The results suggest that family views, peer views, and procedural

justice are all significantly related to perceived police legitimacy. These findings are explored and

contextualized in the broader literature on police legitimacy.

Introduction

Since its inception in 1990, Tyler’s process-based model of regulation has provided a fundamental

framework for understanding why people obey the law. Instead of arguing that people engage in law-

abiding behaviors out of fear of punishment (i.e., instrumental or deterrence-based factors), Tyler

(1990) contended that individuals obey the law because of normative factors. Put simply, individuals

are more likely to engage in various forms of self-regulation and comply with the law when they

believe it is “the right thing to do.”Underlying the capacity of individuals to obey the law is the rela-

tionship between procedural justice and legitimacy. The crux of the framework is that fair treatment,

respect, and communication from criminal justice actors (i.e., procedural justice) fosters legitimacy:

“a psychological property of an authority, institution, or social arrangement that leads those con-

nected to it to believe that it is appropriate, proper, and just”(Tyler, 2006, p. 271). Together, the

1

Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA

2

School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, & Emergency Management,California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach,

CA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Weston J. Morrow, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno, NV 89557-0214,

USA.

Email: wmorrow@unr.edu

Article

Criminal Justice Review

2024, Vol. 49(4) 453-472

© 2023 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/07340168231159368

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relationship between procedural justice and legitimacy engenders obedience and compliance with

legal institutions and actors.

The overwhelming evidence suggests that augmented levels of procedural justice and legitimacy are

associated with many positive outcomes. Research has found, for example, that procedural justice is sig-

nificantly related to greater satisfaction and acceptance of final decisions (Casper et al., 1988; Tyler &

Fagan, 2008), more confidence in the criminal justice system (Tyler, 2001), greatercompliance and coop-

eration with justice actors (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler & Fagan, 2008), and greater legal obedience

(Paternoster et al., 1997). Similarly, research has also found that individuals who view criminal justice

agents with higher levels of perceived legitimacy are more likely to be compliant with the law (Kane,

2005; Mazerolle et al., 2013) and significantly less likely to engage in criminal behavior (Piquero et al.,

2005; Reisig et al., 2011; Tankebe et al., 2016). Thepr ofoundbenefits of pr oceduraljusticeand legitimacy

even led the President’s Task Force on twenty-first Century Policing to list “Building Trust and

Legitimacy”as pillar #1 in the Task Force’sfinal report (Ramsey & Robinson, 2015).

Although research consistently supports notionsassociated with Tyler’s (1990) processed-based

model of regulation, the research is limited in its ability to explain the correlates of legitimacy outside

of procedural justice. This is a surprising void in the literature considering research indicates that the

development of behaviorsand attitudes toward legal institutions andactors is complex. Research illus-

trates,for instance, that opinionsabout and attitudes toward criminaljustice actors are ofteninfluenced by

friends, community,and direct and indirect experienceswith the criminal justice system (Jacksonet al.,

2013; Reisig& Parks 2000; Sampson & Bartusch,1998; Tyler et al., 2014; Tyler & Huo2002; Nix et al.,

2015; Wolfe et al., 2016). Importantly, researchmust extend and explore how legal socialization in the

context of family and peers may influence a person’s perception of legitimacy. In the same way that

family and peers have the ability to shape attitudes and beliefs of those close to them in prosocial and

antisocial ways(Akers, 2009; Burt et al., 2012; Pratt et al., 2004),families and peers may also influence

perceptions of legitimacy toward criminal justice actors (Brunson, 2007; Sargeant & Bond, 2015;

Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Warren (2011), for example, found that individuals who “hear negative

stories about police contacts from friends and family are approximately four times as likely to perceive

disrespect duringtheir own police encounter”(p. 369).Extending such notions, an individual’s percep-

tion of police legitimacymay be impacted by family and/or peerviews of the police. The current explor-

atory study relies on data from students located at two universities in the United States to examine the

independent and competingeffects of family views, peer views, and procedural justice on perceptions

of police legitimacy.

Literature Review

Understanding the Role of Legitimacy

Since Tyler’s (1990) seminal work on legitimacy, scholars and researchers have debated about its concep-

tualization. Whereas Tyler (1990, 2006) asserted that individuals’feelings of obedience and institutional

trust underlie the definition of legitimacy, more recent definitions of legitimacy contend that it is broader,

encompassing concepts such as moral alignment, lawfulness, distributive fairness, proceduralfairnes s,and

effectiveness (Jackson et al., 2012b; Tyler & Jackson, 2014; Bottoms & Tankebe, 2012; Tankebe, 2013a;

Tankebe et al., 2016). A more general and accepted definition, however, of legitimacy is “apsychological

property of an authority, institution,or social arrangement that leads those connected to it to believe that it is

appropriate, proper, and just”(Tyler, 2006, p. 271). Despite ongoing deliberation about the conceptuali-

zation of legitimacy, there is considerable agreement that legitimacy engenders cooperation, empower-

ment, and engagement with the criminal justice system (Reisig, 2007; Reisig & Parks, 2004; Sunshine

& Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 2006; Tyler & Huo, 2002). Importantly, people are more likely to obey the law

when they perceive justice actors as behaving in a manner that aligns with their expectations because it

454 Criminal Justice Review 49(4)