Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Public Cooperation with Police

• Author: Ivan Y. Sun,Yuning Wu,Ashley K. Farmer,Rong Hu
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0022427816638705
• Date: 01 July 2017
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Procedural Justice,

Legitimacy, and

Public Cooperation

with Police: Does

Western Wisdom

Hold in China?

Ivan Y. Sun

1

, Yuning Wu

2

, Rong Hu

3

,

and Ashley K. Farmer

1

Abstract

Objectives: The principal objective of the current study is to test the applic-

ability of Tom Tyler’s process-based model of policing in China. A second-

ary objective of this research is to examine the internal consistency and

discriminant validity of key composite constructs in Tyler’s model. Methods:

Using survey data collected from approximately 1,000 residents in a Chi-

nese city, ordinary least squares regression was employed to assess the

direct and indirect (through legitimacy) effects of procedural justice, specific

distributive justice, and polic e effectiveness on willingness to cooperate

with the police. Results: The internal consistency and discriminant validity

of key composites in Tyler’s original model appear questionable with the

1

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

2

Department of Criminal Justice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA

3

Department of Sociology and Social Work, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

Corresponding Author:

Ivan Y. Sun, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark,

DE 19716, USA.

Email: isun@udel.edu

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2017, Vol. 54(4) 454-478

ªThe Author(s) 2016

Reprints and permission:

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DOI: 10.1177/0022427816638705

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Chinese data. Procedural justice, just like in the West, plays a significant role

in predicting Chinese views on police legitimacy and willingness to coop-

erate with the police. Meanwhile, the strongest predictor of Chinese per-

ceptions of police legitimacy is police effectivene ss. The impact of both

distributive justice and effectiveness on Chinese willingness to cooperate

is mainly indirect through police legitimacy. Conclusions: Key arguments of

Tyler’s model are largely supported by the Chinese data. Future research

needs to develop culture-specific measu res to further elaborate Tyler’s

process-based model of policing.

Keywords

police legitimacy, procedural justice, police effectiveness, cooperation with

police, China, Chinese police

Introduction

Political legitimacy is es sential for the survival a nd functioning of any

government, as it allows the exercise of lawful, justified, and satisfactory

state power and authority within a society (Easton 1975; Keman 2014).

People’s perceptions of government legitimacy signal the extent to which

they are willing to comply with and accept decisions made by poli tical

authorities (Beetham 1991). Research has consistently found that citizens

who view regulatory authorities as legitimate are more likely to obey rules

and regulations, support official proposals and decisions, and follow

directives of legal institutions voluntarily (Levi and Sacks 2009; Murphy

2005; Tyler 1990). Such compliance is pivotal since it reduces public

engagement in antigovernment activities and lessens state reliance on

coercion and monitoring in governing the populace (Brehm and Rahn

1997; Seligson 1980).

Legitimacy has surfaced as one of the focal concerns among a broad

swath of academic disciplines over the past several decades. In the field of

criminology, legitimacy has become a buzzword in studies of criminal

justice operations and public assessments of and compliance with the police

(Gau 2011). The antecedents of legitimacy consist of a plethora of sources,

with Tom Tyler’s (1990) procedural justice model being the most promising

and frequently tested framework. Building on Thibaut and Walker’s (1975)

work on control theory, Tyler (1990) posited that people’s views on the

legitimacy of the police are primarily impacted by whether they perceive

the police to be following fair and equitable procedures (i.e., procedural

Sun et al. 455