Police officers’ perceptions of citizens and support for procedural justice policing: the mediating roles of identity and self-legitimacy
September 15th, 2025
The article titled “Police officers’ perceptions of citizens and support for procedural justice policing: the mediating roles of identity and self-legitimacy” published in the journal Policing and Society in August 2025, presents a study conducted with a sample of 306 Australian police officers. The aim of the study was to investigate whether police officers’ perception of their community as supportive of the police is related to their support for procedural justice. Specifically, the research examined whether officers’ self-legitimacy and their identification with the community could explain this relationship.
Throughout the article, the authors argue that officers who perceive strong public support for the police are more likely to endorse practices inspired by procedural justice. Furthermore, both officers’ identification with the community and their self-legitimacy contribute to mediating the relationship between perceived public support and support for procedural justice.
To read and download the article, click here.