Police Legitimacy

Question 1

Intro- Complex relationship with police

Answer 1

1. young people have a complex relationship with the police.
2. the police are supposed to be a safety force but young people often feel overpoliced and under protected.
3. they can’t go to the police for protection and instead are being constantly watched.
4. for example, research shows that younger people experience higher incidents of stop and searches which has a long-term negative impact.

Question 2

Negative Attitude

Answer 2

this negative attitude towards the police makes it harder for young people to obey and comply

Question 3

Devlin (2006)

Answer 3

Devlin (2006) suggests that young people feel stereotyped and therefore are shown little respect by the Gardaí

Question 4

Gleeson (2016)

Answer 4

1. Gleeson (2016) reported that young people had a positive attitude to their local community Gardaí but had a negative attitude to the force as a whole.
2. Showing that more personal and community based relationships based on respect between police and young people creates a more positive perception of the police
3. If there is a more positive attitude, there is a better chance of obedience and compliance.

Question 5

Legitimacy of the Police

Answer 5

1. The legitimacy of the police is measured by people’s willingness to obey and comply.
2. If the police are legitimate, more people would obey
3. There are 2 theoretical explanations for people’s compliance with Police: Instrumental and Normative Perspectives

Question 6

Instrumental Perspective

Answer 6

The Instrumental Perspective is that young people will comply as a way of protecting themselves from getting arrested and is based on self-interest

Question 7

Normative Perspective

Answer 7

1. The Normative Perspective is that compliance comes from the experience had with police.
2. The experience impacts the person’s social identity.
3. If the experience is of unfair treatment, the response will be problematic

Question 8

Importance of Police Legitimacy

Answer 8

1. This demonstrates the importance of police legitimacy
2. If the police is seen as illegitimate, young people will be less likely to obey or co-operate with police authority.
3. However, if the police are legitimate, young person will comply.
4. Legitimacy starts with treating people with respect and listening to them

Question 9

Akinlabi (2017)

Answer 9

Even research done in Nigeria by Akinlabi (2017) found that procedural fairness and how police treat people is very important to young people and impacts their attitude towards the police

Question 10

Ilan (2016)

Answer 10

However, legitimacy goes both ways.
1. Ilan (2016) discusses moral legitimacy. This is where the Gardaí either see young people as morally legitimate members of society or not. This impacts their attitude towards young people
2. Being a morally legitimate mmeber of society involves behaving in a social manner that the Gardaí expects.
3. For example, the way one dresses and not hanging around, especially at night
4. Young people who are deemed as not morally legitimate, are policed and not protected
5. Ilan (2016) argues that the marginalised are then treated as police property and become the ‘usual supects’
6. Reinforcing a sense of illegitimacy of the police

Question 11

Street Culture - Merton’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 11

1. As a result, young people distance themselves from the normal attitutde towards the police and develop a Street Culture.
2. Merton’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy explains where young people have already been deemed as morally illegitimate, so they adopt this identity and begin to disobey and deviate from authority.