Examining Police Effectiveness as a Precursor to Legitimacy and Cooperation with Police

• NCJ Number: 243967
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 30 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2013 Pages: 895-925
• Author(s): Tammy Rinehart Kochel; Roger Parks; Stephen D. Mastrofski
• Date Published: October 2013
• Length: 31 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined whether public cooperation with police in the developing nation of Trinidad and Tobago was associated with the process model or rational-choice model.

Abstract

Numerous studies by Tyler and colleagues, as well as other scholars, support a normative, process model to account for variation in the public's cooperation with police in the United States and other developed nations. However, a recent study in Ghana suggests that in developing countries fraught with high levels of violent crime and corruption, cooperation may instead be accounted for by a utilitarian, rational-choice model. This study examines whether public cooperation with police in the developing nation of Trinidad and Tobago is associated with the process model or rational-choice model. Using in-person structured interviews with residents, we examined whether victims' decisions to report to police were related to individuals' perceptions about police effectiveness or police legitimacy. The authors found support for the process model. The authors discuss possible explanations for the divergence with Tankebe's research in Ghana and suggest avenues for future research. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor and Francis.