Predicting Support for Procedurally Just Treatment: The Case of the Israel National Police

Abstract

The importance of police treating citizens with procedural justice is well recognized. Recently, scholars have begun exploring officers’ views and beliefs that are associated with support for procedurally fair policing, but have not relied on a consistent conceptual framework. In the present study, we propose such a framework, focusing on three core realms of the policing environment: officers’ affiliation with their supervisors, officers’ perceptions of their authority and powers, and officers’ relationship with the public. We then use this framework to predict Israeli police officers’ endorsement of procedurally just policing. We find positive, direct effects for perceived public support, self-legitimacy, years of experience, and being a minority officer. In contrast to previous findings, internal procedural and distributive justice did not show significant effects. We discuss these findings and their implications, and stress that the relationship between attitudes toward procedural justice and actual behavior continues to be explored.

Prison Officer Self-Legitimacy and Support for Rehabilitation in Ghana

“…The evidence on Self-Legitimacy shows it fosters support for a range of pro-organizational goals. Police officers expressing confidence in Self-Legitimacy are less likely to threaten citizens with the use of force, are more committed to policing ideals, tend to embrace procedural justice in police work, and do more than is minimally required of them (Bradford & Quinton, 2014; Jonathan-Zamir & Harpaz, 2018; Trinkner, Kerrison, & Goff, 2019). In prisons, Symkovych’s (2018) study in Ukraine found that a loss of Self-Legitimacy can result in hesitancy and concession of authority.…”

“…Bradford and Quinton (2014) report that officers who perceived a supportive public also tended to self-report support for the rights of suspects. In Israel, Jonathan-Zamir and Harpaz (2018) reported that police officers who perceived public support for the police were more likely to express support for the fair treatment of civilians (but see Tankebe, 2019; Tankebe & Meško, 2015). In a study in Slovenian prisons, Meško and colleagues found that prison officers who expressed commitment to fair treatment individuals in custody were officers perceived positive relations with those individuals (Meško et al, 2017).…”

“…Self-Legitimacy is self-referentialand entails what Archer (2003), in a different context, refers to as "inner conversation"when power-holders seek to convince themselves that the authority vested in them is morally appropriate. With limited exceptions (Akoensi, 2016;Hacin, Fields, & Meško, 2018;Meško, Hacin, Tankebe, & Fields, 2017), the Self-Legitimacy of prison officers remains an unexplored topic, yet findings from quantitative studies of police officers show that Self-Legitimacy matters for police officers' commitment to the rights of suspects, to officers' support for the fair treatment of citizens, and to their attitudes to the use of force Jonathan-Zamir & Harpaz, 2018;Tankebe, 2019;Tankebe & Meško, 2015;. Given the influence of Self-SELF-LEGITIMACY AND SUPPORT FOR REHABILITATION 4 Legitimacy on the quality of officers' job performance in the police, one might look for a similar influence upon officers in prisons.…”

“Truly free consent”? Clarifying the nature of police legitimacy using causal mediation analysis

“…On the other hand, legitimacy constrains power in normatively appropriate ways. To be seen as legitimate, authority figures need to treat individuals with respect and dignity, make decisions in open, neutral and accountable ways and respect the limits of their rightful authority (Bradford et al 2014a;Jonathan-Zamir and Harpaz 2018;Murphy and Cherney 2012;Trinkner et al 2018). On this account, legitimacy forms part of a virtuous circle.…”

Street‐Level Bureaucrats’ Social Value OrientationOn and OffDuty

“…We chose to conduct our study with them because they often see “the dark side” of society in their day‐to‐day interactions with citizens, as opposed to those who supply social services, such as nurses, teachers, and social workers. Therefore, they may be less oriented toward “fair treatment” when they believe it will limit the achievement of their organizational goals, especially when they think that their accomplishments in fighting crime are more important to the public than the fairness of their processes (Jonathan‐Zamir and Harpaz ; ).…”