Citizen Complaints As Threats To Police Legitimacy: The Role Of Officers’ Occupational Attitudes

Keywords

citizen complaints; occupational attitudes; police; police legitimacy; procedural justice

Abstract

Citizen complaints of police misconduct represent formal expressions of procedural injustice and can thereby threaten police legitimacy. Although prior explanations of complaints have focused primarily on officer demographics, police occupational attitudes have been ignored. The current study fills this empirical void by analyzing data collected from the Assessing Police Use of Force Policy and Outcomes project. We examine the role of patrol officers’ global assessments of their occupation, and specific facets of their internal and external work environments, on overall citizen complaints, as well as allegations of officer discourtesy and improper use of force. Results from our multivariate models reveal a number of attitudinal effects. The implications of these findings for police practitioners and researchers are considered.

Publication Date

5-6-2015

Publication Title

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

Volume

31

Issue

2

Number of Pages

192-211

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986214568842

Socpus ID

84930586839 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84930586839

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