Title
Police self-legitimacy and democratic orientations: Assessing shared values
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
Keywords
democratic policing, Police self-legitimacy, value congruence
Abstract
Using a sample of frontline police officers from several mid-sized municipal police departments in the United States, this study explores the relationships between frontline police officers’ self-legitimacy, organizational fit, moral alignment with policed communities, and attitudes toward democratic policing principles. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, the analysis frames democratic policing using a formative latent construct to test several hypotheses. The results support a direct positive relationship between self-legitimacy and attitudes toward democratic policing, and suggest the relationship is partially mediated by officers' perceptions of moral alignment with their policed communities. The results further demonstrate that self-legitimacy is significantly related to organizational fit, but organizational fit does not appear to mediate the relationship between self-legitimacy and attitudes toward democratic policing.
Recommended Citation
White, David R., Michael J. Kyle, and Joseph A. Schafer. "Police self-legitimacy and democratic orientations: Assessing shared values." International Journal of Police Science & Management (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/14613557211032603
DOI for the article
https://doi.org/10.1177/14613557211032603
Department
student
