A Review of Self-Legitimacy in Policing

Abstract

While police brutality is not a new subject in America, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to consecutive deaths of Black men and women has catalyzed conversations surrounding the structure and function of policing in America. The field of cognitive and behavioral science offers various voices and perspectives into these conversations, including discussions of police legitimacy. This paper will address the current psychological literature on police self-legitimacy, or police officers' perceptions of their own authority. Specifically, it will examine what influences self-legitimacy and how self-legitimacy affects commitment to procedurally just policing. It will also connect the empirical literature to current day conversations and interventions in policing, while also paying mind to the influence of justice system reform on poverty. [From introductory section]