myAIPMA legitimacy crisis? Exploring the relationships between police self-legitimacy, employee engagement, and civic engagement
Mary Wuestewald | Police Police and Research
Changes in police work performance in response to public antagonism may, in part, reflect officer uncertainty about the legitimacy of their authority. Legitimacy is traditionally examined from the viewpoint of citizens, yet developing research indicates citizen perceptions of police authority influence how officers perceive their own power. A 2017 survey of almost 8,000 officers across the U.S. by the Pew Research Center found a significant number of officers were more concerned about their safety, less likely to use force when it would be appropriate, and more reluctant to stop and question suspicious persons. Self-legitimacy (SL), or the confidence officers have in their authority, is undermined, in part, by actions that signal a lack of public support, such as the riots and demonstrations that recently occurred in U.S. cities. Weakened SL is problematic because officers lacking a strong sense of legitimacy are less likely to engage in behaviors that are beneficial for their department and the larger community.
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Wuestewald, M (2022) A legitimacy crisis? Exploring the relationships between police self-legitimacy, employee engagement, and civic engagement. Police Policy and Research. https://www-tandfonline-com.aipm.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/15614263.2021.1984913