Showing 5 of the most recent publications by this author
Show All 23 | Selected publications

DOI: 10.1111/rego.12012

The legitimacy of legal authorities – particularly the police – is central to the state's ability to function in a normatively justifiable and effective manner. Studies, mostly conducted in the US and UK, regularly find that procedural justice is the most important antecedent of police legitimacy, with judgments about other aspects of police behavior – notably, about effectiveness – appearing less relevant. But this idea has received only sporadic testing in less cohesive societies where social order is more tenuous, resources to sustain it scarcer, and the position of the police is less secure. This paper considers whether the link between process fairness and legitimacy holds in the challenging context of present day South Africa. In a high crime and socially divided society, do people still emphasize procedural fairness or are they more interested in instrumental effectiveness? How is the legitimacy of the police influenced by the wider problems faced by the South African state? We find procedural fairness judgments play a key role, but also that South Africans place greater emphasis on police effectiveness (and concerns about crime). Police legitimacy is, furthermore, associated with citizens' judgments about the wider success and trustworthiness of the state.

ISBN: 1748-5991

DOI: 10.1080/10439463.2012.671825

This article discusses how four authors came together to create – inside a police service – a specific approach to public ‘trust and confidence’. We have had many theoretical debates – about the nature of public understanding of policing, police culture, procedural justice and public trust in public institutions in a democracy. Also, while we continue to debate, we wade through mounds of data gathered routinely through the Metropolitan Police's own Public Attitude Survey. Reporting internally on a quarterly basis, the survey challenges police colleagues to think about how the police must demonstrate to citizens their trustworthiness to act fairly, effectively and with the best interests of communities at heart. Our experience of moulding the discourse about public confidence inside the largest police service in the UK suggests that police culture itself has been challenged by the accountability that lies at the heart of trust and trustworthiness. We have been asked by the editors of this issue to share with readers how we have come to create a contribution to understanding what drives confidence in policing, which is now a routine part of its performance management.