Editor
Valerie F. Reyna
Editorial Board
Mahzarin R. Banaji
Stephen J. Ceci
Uta Frith
Morton Ann Gernsbacher
John Jemmott, III
Daniel Kahneman
Elizabeth F. Loftus
Marcus E. Raichle
Henry L. Roediger, III
Daniel L. Schacter
Richard Shiffrin
Keith E. Stanovich
Laurence Steinberg
Cass R. Sunstein
Wendy M. Williams
Christopher Wolfe
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  Psychological Science in the Public Interest
Volume 16, Number 3
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The links below take you to the journal via the APS website. If not already logged in, you will be redirected to log-in using your last name (Garcia) and Member ID (81665).
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Tom R. Tyler (Yale Law School and Yale University), Phillip Atiba Goff (University of California, Los Angeles), and Robert J. MacCoun (Stanford Law School)
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In this comprehensive report, Tyler and colleagues review findings from psychological science highligting the positive impacts of police legitimacy on police-community relations.
In the past few decades, law enforcement has primarily used deterrence methods and proactive policing methods (i.e., methods that seek to stop crime before it occurs) to reduce crime. However, these methods have a relatively small impact on crime and often damage police-community relationships.
Increasing legitimacy -- the degree to which people feel that those in power deserve to make decisions that influence their lives -- may be a more effective way to reduce crime and improve police-community relationships. Studies have found that when people feel the police have legitimacy, they are more likely to follow the law to comply with officers' directives and to co-police neighborhoods by reporting crimes, identifying criminals, and acting as witnesses during trials.
The effects of legitimacy on compliance with the law and cooperation with police have been found to be greater than those produced by deterrence-based policies, indicating the benefit of paying greater attention to both the individual interactions and the pattern of interactions people have with police.
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Philip J. Cook (Duke University) says that while research into the effects of policing legitimacy on real-world crime is promising, we should not discount the impact of deterrence-based police activity on crime reduction. He stresses that more effective policing will only benefit communities, however it is achieved.
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Psychological Science in the Public Interest is a publication of the Association for Psychological Science. Please contact APS by email or by telephone at +1 202.293.9300 with questions or comments. Visit APS on the Web
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