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Can Police Legitimacy Promote Collective Efficacy?

NCJ Number
239412
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2012 Pages: 384-419
Author(s)
Tammy Rinehart Kochel
Date Published
June 2012
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This research examines the role of police in promoting collective efficacy.
Abstract
This research empirically examines the role of police in promoting collective efficacy and in particular, whether higher levels of police legitimacy are associated with more neighborhood collective efficacy. The research is conducted in the developing nation of Trinidad and Tobagoproviding important evidence about the generalizability of the antecedents and effects of legitimacy outside of industrialized nations. The results support a potential role for police in promoting collective efficacy, but the mechanism for doing so is not legal institution legitimacy. Instead, the research identifies a relationship between quality routine police services, levels of police misconduct, and collective efficacy. In Trinidad, the amount and nature of interactions with police appear to play an important part in residents' and neighborhood-level assessments about police services and misbehavior. (Published Abstract)