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Policing and Security in Practice pp 20–36Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Legitimacy and Policing

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Part of the book series: series ((CPSM))

Abstract

Successful policing relies on the ability of police to secure compliance and cooperation from the public (Tyler, 1990). We all know that police can, if they choose, use arrest, threat of arrest and graduated forms of force to obtain compliance. However, given the obvious negative side effects of arrest and use of force, coupled with their limited resources, police know that they must employ strategies that do not rely solely on their unique and legislated powers to maintain order in society (Mastrofski, Snipes, & Supina, 1996; Tyler, 1990). Indeed, critiques about the negative consequences of the use of force (e.g. risk of harm to police and citizens) and concerns about the concomitant result of poor police-citizen relations point to the growing awareness amongst police, police scholars and policy makers of the importance of procedurally just approaches as the primary means of enhancing perceptions of police legitimacy and thereby generating public compliance and cooperation (McCluskey, 2003; Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 1990).

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Authors
  1. Elise Sargeant
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  2. Kristina Murphy
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  3. Jacqueline Davis
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  4. Lorraine Mazerolle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, Griffith University, Australia

    Tim Prenzler (Professor and Chief Investigator) (Professor and Chief Investigator)

Copyright information

© 2012 Elise Sargeant, Kristina Murphy, Jacqueline Davis and Lorraine Mazerolle

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Sargeant, E., Murphy, K., Davis, J., Mazerolle, L. (2012). Legitimacy and Policing. In: Prenzler, T. (eds) Policing and Security in Practice. Crime Prevention and Security Management series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137007780_2

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