Procedural justice, police legitimacy, and performance: Perspectives of South African students

Abstract

This study explored notions of procedural justice and police legitimacy among university students in South Africa. We surveyed 482 South African university students (female =77.6%; black = 91.7%; mean age = 23.0 years, SD = 1.05 years) on the effect of procedural justice and other factors on their perception of police legitimacy. Following hierarchical regression analysis, we found that those who held the view that the police are effective in crime control regarded the police as legitimate. On the contrary, those who believed that there is inequality and discrimination in the country were less likely to view the police as legitimate. Moreover, perceived police effectiveness predicted police legitimacy more so than procedural justice policing.