Compliance with the Law and Policing by Consent: Notes on Police and Legal Legitimacy

LEGITIMACY AND COMPLIANCE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, A. Crawford, A. Hucklesby, eds., Routledge, pp. 29-49, 2010

18 Pages Posted: 1 Dec 2010 Last revised: 13 Mar 2013

See all articles by Jonathan Jackson

Jonathan Jackson

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Methodology

Ben Bradford

University College London - Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science

Mike Hough

King’s College London - Institute for Criminal Policy Research

Katherine Helen Murray

University of Edinburgh

Date Written: November 30, 2010

Abstract

This article summarises ‘procedural justice’ approaches to policing, contrasting these to the more politically dominant discourse about policing as crime control. It argues that public trust in policing is needed partly because this may result in public cooperation with justice, but more importantly because public trust in justice builds institutional legitimacy and thus public compliance with the law, and commitment to, the rule of law. We define police legitimacy as obligation to obey and moral alignment. We link police legitimacy to legal legitimacy/cynicism, and both to compliance with the law. Some recent survey findings are presented in support of this perspective.

Keywords: Compliance, Procedural Justice, Trust in the Police, Police Legitimacy, Legal Legitimacy and Cynicism

JEL Classification: K40

Suggested Citation

Jackson, Jonathan and Bradford, Ben and Hough, Mike and Murray, Katherine Helen, Compliance with the Law and Policing by Consent: Notes on Police and Legal Legitimacy (November 30, 2010). LEGITIMACY AND COMPLIANCE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, A. Crawford, A. Hucklesby, eds., Routledge, pp. 29-49, 2010 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1717812

Jonathan Jackson (Contact Author)

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Methodology ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
+0044-207-955-7652 (Phone)

Ben Bradford

University College London - Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science ( email )

35 Tavistock Square
London, WC1H 9EZ
United Kingdom

Mike Hough

King’s College London - Institute for Criminal Policy Research ( email )

Strand
London, WC2B 2LS
United Kingdom

Katherine Helen Murray

University of Edinburgh ( email )

Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh, EH8 9YL
United Kingdom

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