NCJ Number
246775
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 54 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2014 Pages: 469-489
Date Published
May 2014
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Based on a survey of 290 officers of the Israeli National Police (INP), this study examined police perceptions of their legitimacy in the eyes of the public, i.e., public perceptions that an authority is "entitled to have its decisions and rules accepted and followed by others" (National Research Council).
Abstract
The survey analysis found that, in contrast to citizens' views of what they expect from the INP as reflected in community surveys, INP commanding officers measure their legitimacy by their achievements in fighting crime, regardless of how the community views the tactics, attitudes, demeanor, and fairness of police in the course of law enforcement. Bottoms and Tankebe (2012) have argued for a "dialogic approach to legitimacy." In this approach, legitimacy should not stem only from the perspective of the citizen or solely from that of the power holders as they set and implement their agendas. Rather, legitimacy would emerge from an ongoing dialog between the police and the community regarding policing responsibilities, priorities, and tactics, with each party presenting its views and listening to the perspectives of the other party. Thus, legitimacy of the police emerges from ongoing interactions with representatives of the community regarding the goals and tactics for improving public safety. The sample of police officers surveyed was selected to represent commanding officers in field units of the INP. They hold the territorial responsibility for providing day-to-day policing services to the public. 3 tables, 75 references, and appended control variables and correlation matrix