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Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men's Legal Socialization

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  • Tom R. Tyler
  • Jeffrey Fagan
  • Amanda Geller

Abstract

An examination of the influence of street stops on the legal socialization of young men showed an association between the number of police stops they see or experience and a diminished sense of police legitimacy. This association was not primarily a consequence of the number of stops or of the degree of police intrusion during those stops. Rather, the impact of involuntary contact with the police was mediated by evaluations of the fairness of police actions and judgments about whether the police were acting lawfully. Whether the police were viewed as exercising their authority fairly and lawfully shaped the impact of stops on respondents' general judgments about police legitimacy. Fairness and lawfulness judgments, in turn, were influenced by the number of stops and the degree of police intrusion during those stops. Similarly, judgments of justice and lawfulness shaped the estimated influence of judgments of the general character of police behavior in the community on general perceptions of police legitimacy. These results suggest that the widespread use of street stops undermined legitimacy. Lowered legitimacy had an influence on both law abidingness and the willingness to cooperate with legal authorities. The findings show that people were influenced by perceptions of police injustice/illegality.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom R. Tyler & Jeffrey Fagan & Amanda Geller, 2014. "Street Stops and Police Legitimacy: Teachable Moments in Young Urban Men's Legal Socialization," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 751-785, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:empleg:v:11:y:2014:i:4:p:751-785
    DOI: 10.1111/jels.12055
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey Fagan & Garth Davies & Adam Carlis, 2012. "Race and Selective Enforcement in Public Housing," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(4), pages 697-728, December.
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    6. Aziz Z. Huq & Tom R. Tyler & Stephen J. Schulhofer, 2011. "Mechanisms for Eliciting Cooperation in Counterterrorism Policing: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(4), pages 728-761, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Clark, Miriam & Watts, Stephen & McCuddy, Timothy & McLeod, Ellen, 2023. "Antecedents of legal cynicism unpacked: The impact of parental incarceration, race, and ACEs on its development," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    2. Tom R. Tyler & Jonathan Jackson & Avital Mentovich, 2015. "The Consequences of Being an Object of Suspicion: Potential Pitfalls of Proactive Police Contact," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 602-636, December.
    3. Anthony Vito & George Higgins & Gennaro Vito, 2021. "Police Stop and Frisk and the Impact of Race: A Focal Concerns Theory Approach," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, June.
    4. McFarland, Michael J. & Geller, Amanda & McFarland, Cheryl, 2019. "Police contact and health among urban adolescents: The role of perceived injustice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Augustyn, Megan Bears & Ray, James V., 2016. "Psychopathy and perceptions of procedural justice," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 170-183.
    6. Arabella Kyprianides & Clifford Stott & Ben Bradford, 2021. "‘Playing the Game’: Power, Authority and Procedural Justice in Interactions Between Police and Homeless People in London [‘Beyond Procedural Justice: A Dialogic Approach to Legitimacy in Criminal J," The British Journal of Criminology, Oxford University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 670-689.
    7. Thomas C. O'Brien & Tom R. Tyler & Tracey L. Meares, 2020. "Building popular legitimacy with reconciliatory gestures and participation: A community‐level model of authority," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(4), pages 821-839, October.
    8. Chen, Ted Hsuan Yun & McLachlan, Paul & Fariss, Christopher J, 2021. "Exposure to Discretionary Arrests Increases Support for Anti-Police Protests," SocArXiv r78ys, Center for Open Science.
    9. Crifasi, Cassandra K. & Williams, Rebecca G. & Booty, Marisa D. & Owens-Young, Jessica L. & Webster, Daniel W. & Buggs, Shani A.L., 2022. "Community perspectives on gun violence and safety: The role of policing in Baltimore City," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Jaeyong Choi & Glen A. Ishoy & Julak Lee, 2020. "Using Structural Equations to Model the Relationships between Procedural Justice, Risky Lifestyles, and Violent Inmate Misconduct," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Desmond Ang, 2021. "The Effects of Police Violence on Inner-City Students," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(1), pages 115-168.
    12. Moule, Richard K. & Burruss, George W. & Gifford, Faith E. & Parry, Megan M. & Fox, Bryanna, 2019. "Legal socialization and subcultural norms: Examining linkages between perceptions of procedural justice, legal cynicism, and the code of the street," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 26-39.
    13. Nir, Tal & Perry-Hazan, Lotem, 2016. "The framed right to participate in municipal youth councils and its educational impact," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 174-183.
    14. Celislami, Elda & Kastoryano, Stephen & Mastrobuoni, Giovanni, 2023. "Strategic Bureaucratic Opacity: Evidence from Death Investigation Laws and Police Killings," IZA Discussion Papers 16609, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Kevin Petersen & David Weisburd & Sydney Fay & Elizabeth Eggins & Lorraine Mazerolle, 2023. "Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review and meta‐analysis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(1), March.
    16. Abril, Veronica & Perez-Vincent, Santiago & Tobon, Santiago & Vanegas-Arias, Martin, 2022. "How to measure public trust in the police? A framework with an application for Colombia," SocArXiv 89shw, Center for Open Science.
    17. Baćak, Valerio & Apel, Robert, 2020. "The thin blue line of health: Police contact and wellbeing in Europe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    18. Amanda Geller, 2017. "Policing America's Children: Police Contact and Consequences Among Teens in Fragile Families," Working Papers wp18-02-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    19. Gottlieb, Aaron & Wilson, Robert, 2019. "The effect of direct and vicarious police contact on the educational achievement of urban teens," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 190-199.
    20. Ferdik, Frank & Frogge, George & Cooney, Mikaela, 2022. "Exploring further determinants of citizen satisfaction with the police: The role of strain," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    21. David Weisburd & Kevin Petersen & Taryn Zastrow & Robert Davis & Lorraine Mazerolle & Elizabeth Eggins, 2021. "PROTOCOL: Police stops to reduce crime: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), June.

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